Select Comfort buys Comfortaire in $15.5 million deal

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, January 24, 2013

MINNEAPOLIS — Select Comfort, a manufacturer and retailer of air beds, has acquired its largest competitor, Comfortaire, in a deal valued at $15.5 million.

Select Comfort, which markets its products under the Sleep Number brand name, said it will operate Comfortaire as an independent subsidiary.

The company acquired Comfortaire from Greenville, S.C.-based Park Place Corp. Comfortaire was founded in 1981 and has revenues of $10.5 million in 2012.

"This investment progresses our role as the leader in delivering innovative products as part of an individualized sleep experience, while also strengthening our company's competitive advantages, said Shelly Ibach, Select Comfort president and CEO. "Specifically, with Comfortaire, we anticipate benefits from the convergence of intellectual property."

"We also are pleased that the second-largest adjustable airbed company - with its experienced team and shared commitment to quality, innovation and individualization - is now part of Select Comfort," Ibach added.

Select Comfort, which generates most of its sales from 410 company-owned retail stores, had sales of $935 million in 2012.