Sealy shareholder files suit over Tempur-Pedic deal

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, October 18, 2012

WILMINGTON, Del. — An investor has sued Sealy's board and controlling shareholder KKR & Co., contending that the mattress maker is shortchanging its stockholders by backing a $228 million buyout bid by Tempur-Pedic International, according to a Bloomberg story.

Tempur-Pedic agreed in September to pay $2.20 per share for Sealy. In the suit, Sealy shareholder Curtis Nall contends that Sealy didn't shop around for the best price and structured the deal to discourage other bidders, Bloomberg reported.

According to the suit, "KKR has breached its fiduciary duties as a controlling shareholder by pushing the proposed transaction to advance its own private interests."

Representatives of Sealy and KKR had no comment on the suit, and a Tempur-Pedic spokesman could not immediately be reached, Bloomberg said.