US regulator blocks Tempur Sealy's proposed $4B acquisition of Mattress Firm

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday it voted unanimously, 5-0, to block Tempur Sealy International, Inc.'s proposed $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm Group Inc.

The FTC said it issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block the acquisition.

The regulator alleged that Tempur Sealy, the world’s largest mattress supplier and manufacturer, will have the ability and incentive to suppress competition and raise prices for mattresses for millions of consumers once it acquires Mattress Firm.

The merger, in addition, would give the combined company "enormous power" at multiple parts of the mattress supply chain, the FTC said in a statement.

"Through emails, presentations, and other deal documents, Tempur Sealy has made it abundantly clear that its acquisition of Mattress Firm is intended to kneecap competitors and dominate the market," said Henry Liu, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. "This deal isn’t about creating efficiencies; it’s about crippling the competition, which would raise prices on an essential good and could lead to layoffs for good paying American manufacturing jobs in nearly a dozen states."

Tempur Sealy's stock price was up 2.46% at 2.51 p.m. EDT on the New York Stock Exchange.