WEST JORDAN, Utah, May 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker Edison, a leading supplier of furniture
with an exclusive focus on the e-commerce channel, announced today
that funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (NYSE: BX;
"Blackstone") have made a
significant minority investment in the Company. The Company's
Founders, Brad Bonham and
Matt Davis, and controlling investor
Prospect Hill Growth Partners maintain a majority stake.
Walker Edison designs and
supplies affordable, ready-to-assemble furniture. Their extensive
logistical network and data-driven business model provides an
end-to-end solution to leading global e-commerce platforms –
allowing their partners to seamlessly offer a wide variety of
products with fast shipping to consumers.
Brad Bonham, Co-Founder and CEO
of Walker Edison, said: "We've made
tremendous progress since partnering with Prospect Hill Growth
Partners in 2018. Adding Blackstone as a partner alongside Prospect
Hill is an exciting step in our evolution as a data-centric
e-commerce enabler. Our hyper-growth has been driven by our pivot
to data, and we believe that growth will only accelerate by
partnering with Blackstone's
unique offerings in data science, logistics, and supply chain as we
continue to expand across the globe."
Jasvinder Khaira, a Senior
Managing Director at Blackstone,
said: "Walker Edison is a pioneer in
its sector and trusted partner to many of the world's leading
e-commerce platforms. The continued shift toward online purchasing
and strengthening consumer recovery are two of Blackstone's highest conviction investment
themes – and the company is poised for significant further
expansion. We are excited to work with their first-class management
team to help further accelerate their growth in the years
ahead."
Ann Chung, a Managing Director at
Blackstone, said: "Walker Edison's combination of scale,
technology, and product offerings have made it a leader in the
fast-growing online furniture industry. We believe their business
is well positioned to benefit from strong tailwinds moving forward
as e-commerce adoption continues to rise – particularly among
younger furniture customers."
David Fiorentino, a Partner at
Prospect Hill Growth Partners, said: "We continue to believe
strongly in the value proposition of Walker
Edison as a data-driven, e-commerce enablement solution. We
are excited to continue our partnership with the Founders, Brad and
Matt, and welcome Blackstone's
expertise in e-commerce as we continue to build a category-leading
company across the globe."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ropes & Gray
served as legal advisor and Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lincoln
International, LLC served as financial advisors to Walker Edison. Simpson Thacher Bartlett served as legal advisor to
Blackstone.
About Walker Edison
Since its establishment in 2006, Walker
Edison has become a leading partner and drop-ship solution
for the biggest names in e-commerce. Driven by data, they strive to
cultivate a culture that inspires customers to Live Outside the
Box™ with innovative furniture. Walker
Edison is a global organization with operations in
Brazil, Asia, the UK, and Germany. To learn more visit
www.walkeredison.com. Follow Walker
Edison on Instagram @WalkerEdisonCo.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world's
leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic
impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we
invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by
using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies
solve problems. Our $649 billion in
assets under management include investment vehicles focused on
private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences,
growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real
assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further
information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow
Blackstone on
Twitter @Blackstone.
Blackstone Tactical Opportunities
Tactical
Opportunities (Tac Opps) is Blackstone's opportunistic investment
platform. The Tac Opps team invests globally across asset classes,
industries and geographies, seeking to identify and execute on
attractive, differentiated investment opportunities. As part of the
strategy, the team leverages the intellectual capital across
Blackstone's various businesses
while continuously optimizing its approach in the face of
ever-changing market conditions.
About Prospect Hill Growth Partners
Prospect Hill
Growth Partners is a Boston-area
private equity firm that makes equity investments of up to
$100 million in North American
consumer and healthcare growth companies. The partners of Prospect
Hill Growth Partners have invested $2.8
billion of capital in 37 portfolio companies while working
together over the last two decades. The partners' successful
investment track record has been built on a sector-focused
strategy, a robust operational value-add model, and strong
alignment of interests. For more: www.prospecthillgrowth.com.
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SOURCE Walker Edison