Dive Brief:

• After confidentially filing draft documents in September, Mattress Firm on Friday announced it filed papers for an initial public offering. The initial offering is for $100 million, which is recorded for filing purposes only and could change, according to the prospectus. The company will list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol "MFRM."
• The retailer in fiscal year 2021 recorded net revenues of $4.4 billion, up 35% from the prior year, while its comparable sales increased 36.1% year over year. But the company isn't profitable: In its latest fiscal year, Mattress Firm reported a net loss of $165.1 million, from an income of $125.6 million the year prior, according to the documents.
• As of Sept. 28, Mattress Firm's total liabilities and net long-term debt were $3.5 billion, and $1.2 billion, respectively.

Dive Insight:

The past several years have been a whirlwind for Mattress Firm. After a $3.8 billion buyout from a private equity firm, mass store closings and a bankruptcy filing just over three years ago, the retailer is now eyeing the public markets.

Mattress Firm, founded in 1986, operates 2,353 retail stores nationwide and sells products from brands like Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Sealy, Purple, Stearns & Foster and Beautyrest. Based on U.S. retail mattress revenue, the retailer said it is the largest omnichannel mattress specialty retailer in the country and holds about 20% market share.

Retailers selling goods for the home experienced a boost at the onset of the pandemic as demand for the products grew. As a result of Mattress Firm "leveraging stronger-than-expected sales and earnings" in the first three quarters of fiscal 2021, S&P Global Ratings in September revised the retailer's outlook from stable to positive while affirming its B+ issuer credit rating.

"While consumer demand for mattresses could slow down in the second half of 2021, we expect the company to maintain strong credit metrics beyond 2021," the analysts said. "The positive outlook reflects the potential that we will raise our rating on Mattress Firm if its management team continues to successfully execute its omni-channel and private-label expansion strategies while increasing the company's EBITDA."

The retailer in 2016 was acquired by private equity firm Steinhoff International Holdings for $3.8 billion. And two years later, amid rising competition from online mattress companies, the retailer entered (and exited) bankruptcy, closing about 700 stores. 

Mattress Firm's IPO prospectus is also the latest example of companies eyeing the public markets after filing for bankruptcy just years before. Guitar Center, which filed for Chapter 11 in 2020, reportedly filed confidential registration papers for an initial public offering, according to a report from Debtwire that cited anonymous sources. And outside of retail, vehicle rental company Hertz filed for an IPO this past October after entering bankruptcy in 2020.