WEST JORDAN, Utah, May 24, 2021 — 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.
About 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.
Contact
Matt Anderson
518-248-7310
matthew.anderson@blackstone.com
