Sun-owned Berkline due funds
By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, May 21, 2007
Boca Raton, Fla. — An affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners has acquired controlling interest in Berkline/BenchCraft, a move that will give the upholstery manufacturer new financing.
The deal, which has been in development for several months, is part of a recapitalization that also will swap about $40 million of outstanding debt for new equity securities.
Other terms weren't disclosed.
Officials at Berkline/BenchCraft, which has facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi, said that over the past nine months, the company has closed or consolidated operations at four factories, eliminated numerous SKUs, and otherwise cut costs through more efficient offshore sourcing and integration of manufacturing facilities and systems.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with Sun Capital," said Bill Wittenberg, the manufacturer's president and CEO. "We believe the combination of Sun Capital's financial resources and extensive operating experience in the furniture industry will support our efforts to refocus on our core competencies and to fund Berkline's ongoing product innovation and expansion,"
"Berkline is an innovator and leader in motion furniture," said Sun Capital Vice President Philip Brown. "We look forward to working with Berkline's management team and its dedicated employees to assist them in building a solid platform for strengthening the company's brands."
Berkline is a motion furniture specialist. BenchCraft produces stationary seating.
The investment firm of Code Hennessy & Simmons had been the majority owner of Berkline/BenchCraft since March 2002, when the manufacturers were spun off from LifeStyle Furnishings International.
