AI Dream, a leading branded sleep solution provider and one of the largest companies in the global premium mattress market, has acquired King Koil from KPS Berhad, a Malaysia-based investment holding company.
The transaction will accelerate the U.S. domestic growth of King Koil while providing AI Dream expansion opportunities in new markets outside of Asia. All of King Koil’s current management team will remain with the company and the company will retain its name.
“We’ve been working on this for nearly a year now, and it’s a very, very positive move for King Koil because our new shareholders are heavily invested in the mattress industry,” King Koil CEO David Binke tells Bedding News Now. “Their sights on faster growth is evident, which will give us the ability to not necessarily do things we couldn’t before, but rather to accelerate what we already do well. We’re prioritizing and working through all of the synergies we can capitalize on — and there are plenty. It’s just a matter of how quickly and thoughtfully we can get our arms around everything.”
Formed in 2018 and acquired by Singapore-based private equity firm Hillhouse Investment in 2021, AI Dream is a multibrand sleep solution platform distributing global premium mattress brands King Koil, Serta and Ruf Betten in Asia and Europe. AI Dream’s product offering includes mattresses, bed frames, smart beds and customized bedroom solutions.
“Our strategy of developing King Koil as a premium brand with exceptional design and innovation has been recognized internationally. AI Dream’s investment will provide us with the capital to make strategic decisions to accelerate our growth,” Binke says.
He tells Bedding News Now that it was important to both King Koil and AI Dream that the King Koil team stay in place based on their track record and how they’ve grown the brand thus far.
“Now we have some key strategic decisions to make going forward to an expansion that I would imagine, between now and late summer, we’re going to spend most of the time trying to figure out,” Binke says. “There are a few opportunities that have been presented to us already and we have to decide which ones are priority and make the most sense for our longer-term plan. But as far as the brand and our direction, it’s still we’re going to focus in the ultra-premium luxury brand.
Chief Executive Officer of AI Dream Edward Wu says, “The acquisition of King Koil is part of AI Dream’s strategic plan to acquire and develop a self-owned premium brand. Going forward we envision enhancing King Koil’s global digital channels, introducing smart products and optimizing the brand’s operations to accelerate its growth.”
Sean Carney, partner and head of global investment at Hillhouse Investment, added, “AI Dream has the capital and strategic vision to support King Koil’s future growth. The acquisition also serves as an important step forward for AI Dream as it expands its footprint internationally.”
“King Koil and its current management team have made tremendous strides to become a leader in the luxury mattress segment and we are very happy to have played an important role in that growth and development,” says KPS Berhad’s Managing Director/Group CEO Ahmad Fariz Hassan. “With the new ownership having vast business exposure and deep sector experience, there will be greater opportunity for King Koil’s growth and will put the brand on a higher growth trajectory, while creating lasting value for its stakeholders.”
A leading global mattress manufacturer, King Koil supports more than 23 licensees in more than 80 countries where King Koil mattresses are manufactured and sold. Headquartered in Avondale, Arizona, the company has a long, rich history that reaches back to 1898 when Samuel Bronstein founded U.S. Bedding in St. Paul, Minnesota. What started out as six employees in a small factory has continued to grow.
During the 1930s, U.S. Bedding improved the bedspring and was looking for a new name for its product. From there, the King Koil name was born.
AI Dream is a leading premium sleep solution provider in Asia and operates a portfolio of globally recognized brands, including Serta, King Koil and Ruf Betten. With a consumer-centric marketing approach and an omnichannel strategy, AI Dream’s extensive distribution network reaches all the places where consumers might engage with our products, at home and when traveling. At the end of 2020, AI Dream had 2,300 branded stores in more than 600 cities, 1,300+ luxury hotels and resort partners, and a leading market position on major e-commerce platforms.
