Neighborhood Intelligence, formerly Bed Bath & Beyond, announced that it has terminated the company’s proposed acquisition of F9 Brands, parent of Lumber Liquidators and related retail banners.
Neighborhood Intelligence said it determined F9 couldn’t satisfy all closing requirements under terms of the acquisition agreement within the set timeframe. As such, Neighborhood Intelligence added, it will not proceed with the acquisition or enter into a commercial or strategic collaboration with F9.
F9 operates Lumber Liquidators, Cabinets To Go, Gracious Home/Thos. Baker and Southwind Building Products. Neighborhood Intelligence, upon initially announcing its intent to acquire F9, said it planned to incorporate the F9 enterprises into the Home Services segment of the Neighborhood Intelligence business. The initial plan was to complement existing Elfa and Closet Works operations, as Neighborhood Intelligence extends its whole home business strategy. As it moves forward, Neighborhood Intelligence noted the company intends to advance Elfa and its existing whole-home solutions operations, leveraging their design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities across kitchen, laundry, bath, closet and garage.
Neighborhood Intelligence obtained the Elfa operation when it acquired The Container Store, a merger that initially fell through before finally accomplished under new terms early this year.
“Disciplined capital allocation and protecting shareholder value are central to how we evaluate every transaction,” said Marcus Lemonis, Neighborhood Intelligence executive chairman. “We evaluate opportunities continuously, and this is one of many transactions we have considered that we elected not to pursue. In this case, we determined the seller was unable to satisfy the closing conditions, which are essential to our confidence in any business we acquire. We appreciate the time and effort contributed by the F9 management team and employees throughout the process. We remain focused on the strength of the Home Services platform, anchored by Elfa, Closet Works and SFV Construction Services, and on pursuing opportunities that meet our strategic, financial, and operational standards.”
F9 did not immediately return a call for comment.
