Art Van Furniture Acquires Levin and Wolf Furniture

WARREN, Mich., Nov. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Art Van Furniture, the Midwest's No. 1 furniture and mattress retailer, today announced that it has acquired two privately-held Pennsylvania furniture companies, Pittsburgh-based Levin Furniture and Altoona-based Wolf Furniture. 

"Today's acquisitions of these two well-established furniture retailers – both intricately woven into the fabric of their communities – underscores a transformative new era of thoughtful expansion at Art Van Furniture," said Kim Yost, president and CEO of Art Van Furniture. "From their commitment to their customers to their long-standing histories and corporate cultures, Levin and Wolf are a perfect fit for Art Van's growing family of brands.

Levin Furniture was founded by Sam Levin in 1920, and is currently led by his grandson, Robert Levin, who serves as President. Art Van Furniture's acquisition of the 97-year-old, family-owned and operated business will add 35 stores across Pennsylvania and Ohio to its expansive portfolio of brands and showrooms.

"This exciting new chapter for Levin Furniture comes as we near the 100^th anniversary of my grandparents' very first store," said Levin. "Becoming part of the Art Van Furniture family of retailers will allow Levin to cement future growth, continue to be of service to the community and provide a superior shopping experience." 

Wolf Furniture was co-founded in 1902 by Charles Wolf and Jon Fox, and is currently led by CEO and fourth-generation family member, Doug Wolf. In 2015, Wolf Furniture acquired Maryland-based Gardiners Furniture, and rebranded the stores Gardiner Wolf Furniture. Wolf Furniture operates 18 showrooms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, which will be added to Art Van Furniture's growing portfolio.

"The timing was right, and the opportunity presented itself," said Wolf. "The heart and soul of our 115-year-old company will remain the same with this acquisition, and Wolf Furniture will benefit from Art Van's enormous buying power, warehouse and distribution capacity and services."

With the acquisitions of Levin and Wolf, Art Van becomes a top ten national furniture retailer based on sales, with 176 stores which includes 18 Art Van franchise stores in nine states and $1.3 billion in expected annual sales. The acquisitions will also add 1,900 new employees to Art Van's current employee base of 3,600, bringing the total to 5,500 associates. Levin and Wolf Furniture will both maintain their names and all current management teams plus staff will remain in place. All Levin and Wolf customer accounts and product warranties will continue as well.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as financial advisor to Art Van Furniture in connection with the transactions. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal advice to Art Van Furniture. Financial terms for the transactions were not disclosed. 

In March 2017, Art Van completed an equity recapitalization in partnership with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. ("THL"). THL of Boston is the majority shareholder of Art Van.

For more information, visit artvan.com.

About Art Van Furniture, LLC.

Art Van Furniture, LLC  is the Midwest's No. 1 furniture and mattress retailer with 176 stores in 9 states operating under the following brands; Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep, Art Van Flooring, Scott Shuptrine Interiors, Levin Furniture , Wolf Furniture and Gardiner Wolf Furniture. Founded in 1959, the company is headquartered in Warren, Mich. Visit artvan.com for more information.

About Levin Furniture

Founded in 1902, Levin Furniture has 35 furniture and mattress showrooms and clearance centers in Northeastern Ohio and Southwestern Pennsylvania. For more information, visit levinfurniture.com.

About Wolf Furniture

Wolf Furniture was founded in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1902, and purchased Maryland-based Gardiners Furniture in 2015. The company has 18 furniture showrooms in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit wolffurniture.com.

About Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.

Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is a premier private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies, headquartered in North America, exclusively in four industry sectors: Business & Financial Services, Consumer & Retail, Healthcare, and Media, Information Services & Technology. Using the firm's deep domain expertise and the internal operating capabilities of its Strategic Resource Group, THL seeks to create deal sourcing advantages, and to accelerate growth and improve operations in its portfolio companies in partnership with management teams.

Since its founding in 1974, THL has raised over $22 billion of equity capital, acquired over 140 portfolio companies and completed over 360 add-on acquisitions which collectively represent a combined enterprise value at the time of acquisition of over $200 billion.

SOURCE Art Van Furniture