The New Jersey-based designer and distributor of wallcoverings gets its fourth private equity owner
Thibaut is a designer and distributor of wallcoverings, fabrics, rugs, and furniture. Its products are used by interior designers, hospitality groups, and residential customers for home renovation, commercial design, and luxury furnishing projects.
May 13, 2026|John McNulty
Quad-C Management has acquired Thibaut, a designer and distributor of wallcoverings, fabrics, rugs, and furniture, from Norwest Equity Partners.
Thibaut’s products are used by interior designers, hospitality groups, and residential customers for home renovation, commercial design, and luxury furnishing projects. Its offerings, sold through interior design and trade channels, include printed and woven fabrics, wallpaper collections, decorative trims, hand-crafted rugs, and furniture pieces developed through an in-house design team focused on color palettes and traditional and contemporary patterns. Company-owned brands include Thibaut, Anna French, Coraggio, and Rosemary Hallgarten.
Thibaut, founded in New York in 1886 by Richard Thibaut, has evolved over the past 140 years from a wallcovering distributor into a full-service design house with distribution in hundreds of locations globally.
Thibaut has cycled through several private equity owners in recent years. Harbour Group acquired the company from Champlain Capital Partners in December 2017 before selling the business to Norwest Equity Partners in November 2021.
During Norwest’s ownership term, Thibaut completed two add-on acquisitions: Italian textile and furniture brand Coraggio in July 2022 and luxury rug and textile brand Rosemary Hallgarten in June 2024.
Today, Thibaut is led by chief executive officer Rick Kilmer and is headquartered in Union, New Jersey, and operates six showrooms across the United States while maintaining trade-only distribution channels for its branded collections.
Tony Armand
“Thibaut is a great example of what we aim to do at NEP – partner with strong businesses to help build a platform for enduring growth,” said Tony Armand, a partner at NEP. “We are grateful for our partnership with Rick Kilmer and the entire Thibaut team. Together, we built strong momentum across the business, and we believe the company is well-positioned for continued success in its next chapter with Quad-C.”
Quad-C invests from $50 million to $150 million of equity in North America-based service and industrial companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $500 million. Quad-C is currently investing from its tenth fund, Quad-C Partners X LP, which closed in May 2022 with $1.7 billion in capital. Since its founding in 1989, Quad-C has invested approximately $4.9 billion across 90 platform companies and more than 410 add-on acquisitions. Quad-C is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Thibaut represents a distinguished collection of brands with an exceptional legacy and a highly differentiated market position,” said Thad Jones, a senior partner at Quad-C. “We are excited to partner with Rick and the Thibaut team to support the company’s next phase of growth while preserving the creativity, quality, and customer relationships that have defined the business for generations.”
Quad-C has previously invested in businesses tied to building products and home furnishings, including Stanton Carpet, a supplier of branded floorcovering products, in November 2016 and sold the business to Dunes Point Capital in October 2021. The firm also acquired Wolf Home Products, a distributor of specialty building products serving independent dealers, in July 2015 before exiting the investment through a sale to Tenex Capital Management in September 2019.
Matt Trotta
“Thibaut has a longstanding reputation for design excellence and a differentiated product portfolio. The business has demonstrated strength and consistency over many decades. We are excited to leverage our industry expertise and support Thibaut’s continued growth,” said Matt Trotta, principal at Quad-C.
“This partnership marks an exciting new chapter for our company. With Quad-C’s support and partnership, we are well-positioned to accelerate innovation, expand our product offerings, and continue delivering exceptional design and service to our customers,” said Mr. Kilmer.
NEP makes equity investments of $30 million to $250 million in companies that have more than $10 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include agriculture, business services, consumer, distribution, industrials, energy, and healthcare. NEP was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Minneapolis with an additional office in Palm Beach.
Robert W. Baird was the financial advisor to Quad-C, and William Blair & Company was the financial advisor to Thibaut.
