Mattress companies Brooklyn Bedding and Helix are joining forces in an acquisition by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Together, the combined company will offer customers Brooklyn Bedding’s and Helix’s products through a vertically integrated, scalable direct-to-consumer platform.
Brooklyn Bedding and Helix will continue to operate under their respective brand names, and the combined company will be led by John Merwin, current chief executive officer of Brooklyn Bedding. Helix’s co-founders Adam Tishman, Kristian von Rickenbach, and Jerry Lin will lead the direct-to-consumer segment of the combined business.
“This is an exciting opportunity to combine two incredible businesses with highly complementary capabilities,” said Scott Wille, senior managing director, Cerberus, which offers alternative investing with more than $55 billion in assets across private equity, credit and real estate strategies. “Brooklyn Bedding and Helix will bring together their respective strengths to meet the growing demand in the direct-to-consumer mattress market.”
Phoenix-based Brooklyn Bedding builds mattresses using patented materials and distributes its products through an omnichannel platform that includes 18 brick-and-mortar stores. The company began construction earlier this year on a 648,165-square-foot factory in Glendale, Ariz. that is slated to open in December.
“We have long admired Helix and are excited to be teaming up with them,” Merwin said. “Helix’s innovative business model has driven extraordinary growth, and its high-quality products have made it a trusted brand to customers. Supported by Cerberus’ operational and technology expertise, our combined platform will be able to capture significant growth opportunities and deliver even greater mattress-buying experiences for our customers.”
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New York-based Helix designs and provides custom-made mattresses through a tailored digital experience and analytics-focused marketing strategy.
“Our vision has always been to sell exceptional home and sleep products to our customers, so that they can enjoy the moments that matter with the people they love,” the Helix co-founders said in a statement. “We know firsthand that Brooklyn Bedding shares a similar customer-first mission and is one of the finest manufacturers of mattresses in the country. The integration of our two organizations and Cerberus’ partnership will enable us to become a category leader that provides customers with innovative new products and first class service.”
The acquisition transactions are expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of all regulatory and other customary closing conditions.
The home good sector has benefited from consumer trends during the pandemic, and players from Williams Sonoma to Big Lots and TJX-owned HomeGoods all recently reported strong comp sales, with the latter putting the finishing touches on its e-commerce debut. Social restrictions spurred many consumers to invest in their surroundings, prompting an 18 percent uptick in searches for products like bed sheets, according to Edited, a retail data analytics firm.