International Market Centers to be acquired by New York private equity firm
International Market Centers, the company that merged the furniture showroom assets in High Point and Las Vegas in a $1 billion deal in 2011, will be purchased by New York City-based private equity firm Blackstone in the third quarter for an undisclosed price. Blackstone announced that funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities entered into a definitive agreement to acquire IMC from Bain Capital Private Equity LP and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. Fireside Investments is also expected to partner with Blackstone in the acquisition. Blackstone's pending purchase comes more than a year after IMC withdrew its request for an initial public offering due to unfavorable market conditions.
The company resulted from a $1 billion deal put together by IMC CEO Robert Maricich and financial backers Bain Capital and Oaktree Capital Management to place the core showrooms of both the High Point and Las Vegas markets under common ownership. “This marks an exciting time for International Market Centers,” said Maricich. “While Bain Capital and Oaktree have been great partners for the past six years, we look forward to this new relationship and our next phase of growth. Blackstone is a firm with a strong track record of enabling transformational change and shares our long-term vision for the business.” Tyler Henritze, a Senior Managing Director in Blackstone’s Real Estate group, said that by leveraging the scale of Blackstone’s platform and expertise in real estate investing, "we look forward to partnering with IMC to help drive the company’s continued growth in the years ahead. Kaj Vazales, managing director at Oaktree, said the firm is “enormously proud of the enduring and essential platform this management team has built" in partnership with Maricich and Bain Capital. "IMC is well-positioned for the next phase of growth as the nexus of commerce for the furnishing, home décor and gift industries,” he said.
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