DALLAS — October 9, 2018 — Highlander Partners L.P., a leading middle market private investment firm based in Dallas, today announced the acquisition of SFERRA Fine Linens LLC. Founded in Italy in 1891, and headquartered today in Edison, N.J., SFERRA is a luxury linens and home lifestyle company, with a consumer brand known for design, textile innovation, trusted quality, and craftsmanship.
SFERRA’s product portfolio today includes more than 10 different categories, including bed, bath, table, and decorative accessories. The SFERRA brand is known for its fine Italian craftmanship and for sourcing premium natural fibers from the foremost global resources to spin and weave its luxury goods. The company’s multi-channel distribution platform consists of over 800 home specialty boutiques, major luxury department stores, SFERRA.com, and select hospitality properties.
Mark Blanchat, a partner at Highlander has been named as the newly-appointed chairman of SFERRA; and Michelle Klein will continue in her role as CEO and president of the company. Of the acquisition, Highlander’s Blanchat commented: “This acquisition reiterates Highlander’s focus on investing in high-quality, branded consumer products companies and represents an opportunity for us to acquire an established luxury brand with a loyal consumer following due to its highly differentiated product offerings and superior quality. Luxury bedding has proven to be a stable segment of the market and is expected to continue growing over the foreseeable future as consumers correlate a better sleep experience to achieving improved health. There are tremendous growth opportunities for this business driven by strategic brand and product extensions designed to further increase awareness, along with continued growth in new and existing channels. We believe Michelle and her team are the ideal partners to take SFERRA to the next level.”
Jeff L. Hull, president and managing partner of Highlander, commented: “We are very excited to be partnering with SFERRA management in this transaction. All of us believe SFERRA has the potential to become the leading luxury linens provider globally, reaching into adjacent untapped home-goods categories. We are looking forward to implementing a selective “buy-and-build” investment approach and finding complementary M&A opportunities for this business in the luxury goods category.”
Michelle Klein, CEO of SFERRA, added: “We are excited about the new partnership with Highlander and will benefit from their resources and expertise in brand building. SFERRA currently has outstanding consumer awareness, and we are well positioned to continue our historical success. We’re looking forward to partnering with Highlander to help accelerate growth across the U.S. and internationally. Our team at SFERRA is eager to get started on our robust pipeline of new opportunities.”
Lazard Middle Market acted as financial advisor to SFERRA. Regions Bank and Fifth Third provided senior financing, and Norwest Mezzanine Partners provided mezzanine debt in support of the transaction.
Posted October 10, 2018
Source: Highlander Partners
