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🟡 FORMERLY PE OWNED
Mattress Firm
mattresses · Houston, TX
PE Firm
Steinhoff International (formerly)
Acquirer
Somnigroup International (2025)
Year Acquired
2016
“Bought by a scandal-plagued South African conglomerate. Bankrupt within two years.”
What Happened
- •Steinhoff International bought Mattress Firm for $3.8 billion in 2016; bankrupt by 2018
- •Steinhoff was later found to have $6.5 billion in fictitious transactions — one of the largest accounting frauds in history
- •Closed 700 stores in bankruptcy, emerged in 47 days, then acquired by Somnigroup in 2025
- •At its peak had so many stores in the same areas that 'why is there a Mattress Firm on every corner?' became a meme
The Damage Done
- ▸Expanded from roughly 500 stores to 3,500 in four years — 42.6% of locations ended up within one mile of another Mattress Firm
- â–¸Filed Chapter 11 in October 2018 and closed 700 stores in 47 days
- â–¸Lost its Tempur-Sealy contract in 2017 after Steinhoff tried to renegotiate terms, leaving customers with fewer premium options
- â–¸Steinhoff's parent was later exposed for massive accounting fraud involving fictitious transactions