Corsicana Bedding owner Carroll Moran acquires IBC assets

David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 9, 2012

CORSICANA, Texas — Bedding entrepreneur Carroll Moran has added yet another Top 15 brand to his portfolio with the acquisition of the assets of International Bedding Corp. He now has brands from one-third of the Top 15 bedding producers in his stable.

Terms of the acquisition were not released.

Moran is the chairman of bedding producer Sleep Inc., which made the IBC buy, and is also the owner of Corsicana Bedding, the No.7 bedding producer, according to Furniture/Today's list of the Top 15 U.S. Bedding Producers.

His Sleep Inc. division already produces bedding under three major brand names: Therapedic, Spring Air and Englander. Sleep Inc. is a licensee of each of those Top 15 bedding brands.

Financially struggling International Bedding, No. 9 on Furniture/Today's Top 15, ceased operations late last year.

As part of the deal, Moran acquired IBC's former Pennsylvania factory. IBC's plants in Arizona, Florida, Indiana and Texas were leased, sources said.

"Our intentions would include keeping the Pennsylvania plant open as a Corsicana Bedding facility and using the equipment and other intellectual properties for the further development and growth of our Sleep Inc. division," said Doug Guffey, president of Sleep Inc.

He also hinted that Sleep Inc. might resurrect the IBC brand.

"IBC was a successful brand that may be brought back to the retail market in the near future," Guffey said.

The IBC buy was not the only move recently made by Sleep Inc. The company recently acquired the Spring Air Salt Lake City facility, which it will devote to Spring Air bedding.

Sleep Inc. has steadily expanded its presence in the branded bedding marketplace. It first became a major licensee in the Therapedic organization and then added significant sales territories as a Spring Air licensee. In 2010 Sleep Inc. acquired the Englander licensee in North Billerica, Mass.

Moran's Corsicana Bedding business, based in Corsicana, has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Corsicana is a specialist in promotional bedding.

Sleep Inc. will show the full line of its bedding brands at the Las Vegas Market, which opens Jan. 30. The company exhibits in World Market Center B-906.