Arle-owned mattress maker refinances

KKR has provided fresh capital to Arle Capital Partners-owned mattress maker Hilding Anders, injecting €350 million as part of a refinancing.

The investment has been used to repay €200 million of the company’s existing term loan B debt, according to sources. Existing debt maturities have also been extended. The extended maturity debt would pay an addition 150 bps of interest. Deutsche Bank is reportedly managing the amend-and-extend request on Arle’s behalf according to Bloomberg.

KKR’s investment is understood to take the form of a PIK note. The US-headquartered alternatives firm declined to comment. Arle also declined to comment on the refinancing.

The refinancing will deleverage Hilding Anders from more than 7 times EBITDA to less than 4.5 times, Bloomberg said. Its 2012 EBITDA was €122 million.

The deal has also freed up capital with which to make bolt-on acquisitions. On Tuesday, Hilding Anders announced it had acquired mattress company Carpe Diem from Oslo-based buyout firm Herkules Private Equity.

Mezzanine specialist MezzVest also owns a stake in Hilding Anders.

Arle was understood to have been keen to sell the business according to media reports, and had earmarked an SEK 10 billion ($1.5 billion) price tag. Arle, then known as Candover Partners, bought Hilding Anders in 2006 at the height of the buyout boom using more than €930 million of debt to underwrite the deal.

The business has already gone through one restructuring, in 2009, which “significantly reduced leverage” according to a Candover / Arle statement at the time.