American Leather acquires Lee Industries

According to documents obtained by Furniture Today from several sources, American Leather acquired Lee on Sept. 28. American Leather was acquired by CP II along with the company’s senior management team in July 2012 and was CP II’s first platform investment.

“The complementary nature of our two fantastic cultures and diverse strengths is an exciting proposition — and establishes a robust base for future growth opportunities,” said Bruce Birnbach, American Leather and Lee Industries president and CEO, in a statement issued from Capital Partners. “American Leather is known for its transitional to contemporary styling and heavy focus on speed, innovation and engineering. LEE is known for its design and customization of well-curated traditional to transitional lifestyle products. With these areas of expertise, both companies will learn from one another and together, our potential is unlimited.”

According to the document, Capital Partners structured the initial American Leather transaction and the Lee transaction “primarily with equity and only a moderate level of debt financing in order to provide a strong balance sheet from which to implement its growth plan.”

Lee Industries was founded by Bill and Dottie Coley and has manufactured high-end furniture in Conover, N.C., since 1969. American Leather, founded in 1990, produces custom-upholstered leather and fabric furniture at its Dallas facility.