Contract - March 2014 - 16

industry news

Knoll Acquires HOLLY HUNT for $95 Million

Knoll, Inc. is expanding its presence in the residential market with the
acquisition of luxury design brand HOLLY HUNT in a $95 million cash
deal announced on February 3.
"Like our co-founder Florence Knoll, Holly Hunt is one of the
icons of our industry who consistently elevates the level of design
in her chosen markets," Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan said. "She is an
arbiter of refined taste, and we have been longtime fans of her work
and curatorial eye."

Holly Hunt will remain CEO of the eponymous company she
founded in 1983-which provides furnishings, lighting, textiles, and
leathers for designers-while serving as an adviser to Knoll on its
high-design residential strategy and reporting directly to Cogan.
David Schutte, who has been Knoll's senior vice president and chief
marketing officer, will become the president of HOLLY HUNT.
"We believe as a custodian of her eponymous brand that we can
help Holly and her seasoned team accelerate the brand's growth both

domestically and internationally, while leveraging assets we already
have in place," Cogan said. "We estimate the global market for luxury
home furnishings and coverings to exceed the market for contract
furnishings and believe it offers significant opportunity for further
consolidation and growth as the number of affluent, design savvy
consumers expands globally. The acquisition of HOLLY HUNT
accelerates our high design residential and consumer strategy and
opens up new sources of revenue that complement our existing
office and specialty businesses."
HOLLY HUNT reported 2013 revenues of $94 million and
double-digit operating margins. Following the acquisition, Knoll expects
40 percent of its revenue to come from outside the North American
office market.
"Knoll has a long and deep history with a terrific reputation for
modern design and superb quality," Hunt said of the acquisition. "Knoll
is an ideal partner to assure the continued growth of our brand. We
share Knoll's commitment to design and luxury furnishings that enrich
interior space." -staff

Haworth Acquiring Italian Design Company Poltrona Frau

In a deal announced February 5, Haworth has agreed to buy a majority
stake in the Italian company Poltrona Frau Group.
Haworth will buy a 58.6 percent share from Poltrona Frau's
shareholders, Charme Investments and the Moschini family, at a price
of about four dollars per share. The group's other brands-Cassina,
Cappellini, Alias, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, and Nemo-will also come
under the control of Haworth. The transaction is expected to be
completed by the end of April, subject to the approval of antitrust
authorities. Haworth will then launch a mandatory takeover on the
remaining shares.

"Our family is very excited about this opportunity," said Matthew
Haworth, chairman of Haworth. "This transaction is not only inspired
by the strong performance of the Poltrona Frau Group and what
we believe to be highly complementary strategies, but even more
importantly, by the great alignment of the values shared by both
our families."
Haworth, a Michigan-based company that remains family
owned, has been a partner of Poltrona Frau Group North America
16

since 2011. The company recently announced that its 2013 global sales
reached $1.4 billion, a 7.3 percent increase over 2012 sales. Founded
in 1948, Haworth has approximately 6,000 employees and 600
dealers worldwide.
Poltrona Frau celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012 and is
known for high design and detailed craftsmanship, and also produces
luxury automobile interiors for companies such as Ferrari, Maserati, and
Fiat. Haworth will acquire a back-catalog of designs including the iconic
Vanity Fair chair, and Tom Dixon's S Chair.
"This is, for me, the realization of a big dream-the creation of the
most important global operator in the industry of luxury furnishing that
will bring great benefits to the international development of the group
and the consequent growth of our factories and manufacturing sites,"
says Franco Moschini, president of Poltrona Frau. "This is the crowning
achievement of this extraordinary year in which I conclude my first 50
years as president by signing an agreement with another great family
of entrepreneurs, in respect of those founding principles that have
always characterized our great company." -cody calamaio

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march 2014
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Contract - March 2014

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