Interface Announces Pending Sale Of Bentley Prince Street To Dominus Capital

ATLANTA, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFSIA), the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Bentley Prince Street division in a transaction valued at $35 million. 

Bentley Prince Street will be sold to Dominus Capital, a private investment firm, in partnership with Bentley Prince Street President Anthony Minite and other members of the company's senior management team.  The transaction is expected to close in the coming few weeks, subject to customary closing conditions.

For Interface, the sale will allow the global company to focus management and business strategy entirely on its core modular carpet business, while strengthening its balance sheet.  As an independent company with sales in excess of $100 million, Bentley Prince Street will be positioned as the largest California-based commercial carpet company continuing to offer broadloom, carpet tile and area rugs.

Los Angeles-based Bentley Prince Street has been a part of the Interface family of companies since 1993, when Bentley Mills was acquired by Interface.  Bentley was merged with Prince Street Technologies, another Interface subsidiary, in 2002, when broadloom operations were consolidated on the West Coast. 

"Bentley Prince Street has the distinction of being an iconic brand in the marketplace," said Dan Hendrix, chairman and CEO of Interface, Inc.  "Anthony and his team have contributed a great deal to our company's success, and in particular, to our sustainability journey.  For nearly 20 years, our Bentley Prince Street colleagues have journeyed with us in reducing our negative impacts on the environment with the highest degree of integrity.  I know they will continue to be a sustainability leader, while expanding the boundaries of commercial carpet design, manufacturing and customer service."

Bentley Prince Street will continue to operate in California under the leadership of Anthony Minite, who now assumes the additional role of CEO.  Minite said that daily operations will continue as normal.

"While the purchase may represent a change in ownership, it does not represent any change in Bentley Prince Street's commitment to delivering quality products and customer service, something the company has done continuously since 1979," said Minite.  "Being privately owned will be a return to Bentley Prince Street's entrepreneurial roots and afford the company, as well as its loyal customers, the opportunity to write the next chapter in its rich history."

Ashish Rughwani, Partner at Dominus Capital, added "We are excited to partner with Anthony and the rest of the management team in this investment.  We look forward to supporting them as they continue to expand their industry leading product portfolio and further build-out their roster of dedicated clients around the globe. In addition to making a substantial financial commitment to Bentley, we look forward to utilizing our previous experience in the floor covering industry, as well as our network of industry executives, to assist management in achieving its growth plans."

About Bentley Prince Street
Defining style, color, quality and service for over 30 years, Bentley Prince Street manufactures and markets award-winning broadloom, carpet tile and area rugs for commercial interiors across the globe.  Bentley Prince Street is committed to sustainable commerce and innovations to integrate style and function with environmental practices.  With the industry's most comprehensive vertical carpet manufacturing facility, the company maintains third-party certification to the ISO 9001:2009 Quality Management System and the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System.  Based in Los Angeles County, California, Bentley Prince Street operates in a LEED-EB® Silver carpet mill and is the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in California. For more information, please visit www.bentleyprincestreet.com and http://bpscarpet.blogspot.com.

About Dominus Capital
Based in New York, Dominus Capital is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm that focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital investments in companies in the business services, light manufacturing and consumer sectors.  Drawing on the experience, knowledge and network of its founders and a team of in-house operating executives, Dominus Capital works hand-in-hand with exceptional management teams to unlock the untapped potential of its portfolio companies.  The firm takes a long-term and conservative approach to investing and has a consistent and successful track record of achieving significant growth at its portfolio companies.  The Dominus Capital team members have executed over 40 transactions over the past 20 years.  For more information, please visit www.dominuscap.com.

About Interface, Inc.
Interface, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet, which it markets under the Interface, FLOR, Heuga and Bentley Prince Street brands, and, through its Bentley Prince Street brand, enjoys a leading position in the designer quality segment of the broadloom carpet market.  The Company is committed to the goal of sustainability and doing business in ways that minimize the impact on the environment while enhancing shareholder value. 

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the other matters set forth in this news release are forward--looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including risks and uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the commercial interiors industry as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" included in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2012, which discussion is incorporated herein by this reference, including, but not limited to, the discussion of specific risks and uncertainties under the headings "The ongoing worldwide financial and credit crisis could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations," "Sales of our principal products have been and may continue to be affected by adverse economic cycles in the renovation and construction of commercial and institutional buildings," "We compete with a large number of manufacturers in the highly competitive commercial floorcovering products market, and some of these competitors have greater financial resources than we do," "Our success depends significantly upon the efforts, abilities and continued service of our senior management executives and our principal design consultant, and our loss of any of them could affect us adversely," "Our substantial international operations are subject to various political, economic and other uncertainties that could adversely affect our business results, including by restrictive taxation or other government regulation and by foreign currency fluctuations," "Concerns regarding the European sovereign debt crisis and market perceptions about the instability of the euro, the potential re-introduction of individual currencies within the Eurozone, or the potential dissolution of the euro entirely, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition," "Large increases in the cost of petroleum-based raw materials could adversely affect us if we are unable to pass these cost increases through to our customers," "Unanticipated termination or interruption of any of our arrangements with our primary third party suppliers of synthetic fiber could have a material adverse effect on us," "We have a significant amount of indebtedness, which could have important negative consequences to us," "The market price of our common stock has been volatile and the value of your investment may decline," "Our earnings in a future period could be adversely affected by non-cash adjustments to goodwill, if a future test of goodwill assets indicates a material impairment of those assets," and "Our Rights Agreement could discourage tender offers or other transactions for our stock that could result in shareholders receiving a premium over the market price for our stock." Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking statements made in this press release and cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Interface, Inc.