Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) has agreed to acquire Art Van Furniture, the Midwest’s largest furniture retailer and one of America’s largest independent furniture retailers. The transaction is expected to close by the end of February.
Art Van Furniture operates more than 100 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, including freestanding Art Van PureSleep mattress stores, Art Van Flooring stores, and Art Van Furniture franchise locations, as well as a full service e-commerce website. The company was founded in 1959 by Art Van Elslander – the sole shareholder prior to the sale – and is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Warren, M I (www.artvan.com).
“The heartbeat of any organization is its people,” said Mr. Van Elslander. “I am proud of Art Van Furniture’s history and what we have accomplished. The time for an ownership transition is right and the opportunity presented itself. There is still much I want to do, and I feel confident knowing the company and its people will be in the very best of hands for continued growth and success.”
According to THL, the senior management team of the company – led by CEO Kim Yost; Gary Van Elslander, President of Art Van Furniture; and David Van Elslander, President of Art Van PureSleep – will continue with the company.
“Over nearly six decades, Art Van Furniture has continuously realized Mr. Van’s vision and set the standard for excellence in furniture retail in the Midwest. We look forward to working with the entire team at Art Van as we continue to aggressively grow this outstanding brand,” said Jeff Swenson, Managing Director at THL.
Thomas H. Lee Partners was founded in 1974 and is one of the oldest private equity investment firms in the United States. Industries of interest include consumer and healthcare, media and information services, and business and financial services. Since its founding, THL has raised approximately $20 billion of equity capital and invested in more than 130 businesses with an aggregate purchase price of more than $150 billion. The firm is based in Boston (www.thl.com).
“After thoughtful consideration and strategic evaluation, we determined that Thomas H. Lee Partners is absolutely the right ownership partner for Art Van,” said Mr. Yost. “We are collectively committed to building on Mr. Van’s tremendous legacy as we enter this new chapter of the Art Van Furniture story.”
RBC Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Art Van Furniture and Goldman Sachs was the financial advisor to THL.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | January 26, 2017
