The Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to block mattress supplier Tempur Sealy International from acquiring retailer Mattress Firm in a $4 billion deal over concerns the combined business would suppress competition and send prices soaring.
Tempur Sealy — which owns Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster and Sealy — is the world’s largest mattress supplier.But the FTC authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block the merger.
The commission said the merger could “kneecap” rivals by limiting their access to Mattress Firm floor space or initiating unfair store incentives, like higher employee commission rates for Tempur Sealy sales. The FTC said the merger could raise prices for mattress customers, who are often “working class, older adults with limited disposable income,” and hurt workers — thousands of whom are employed by competing mattress suppliers that might be forced to shutter due to unfair competition.
In recent years, mattress manufacturers and retailers have been hit hard by online competition, including bed-in-a-box mattress maker Casper and Amazon.
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