The Charter Group plans furniture industry concentration as M&A activity heats up

June 9, 2013 – MiBiz

As office furniture companies from around the country roll out new products this week at the NeoCon trade show in Chicago, The Charter Group is launching a new division to aid buyers and sellers of companies in the industry. 

At NeoCon on Monday, The Charter Group announced the launch of a dedicated furniture industry practice. The creation of the division comes as the company sees a heightened level of mergers and acquisitions and capital formation activity within the office furniture, residential furniture and home furnishings markets.

While Charter Group has been active in the furniture sector for more than two decades, John Kerschen, Managing Director, said the firm decided now was the time to form a dedicated practice group to better focus on the increased deal flow. Plus, given the industry’s concentration in the region, it just made sense to have a formal advisory practice for furniture companies, he said. “This is a logical practice to be based in West Michigan, not just because of the presence of the big three (Steelcase, Herman Miller and Haworth), but because of the whole network of smaller companies and suppliers and the very talented and experienced people here,” Kerschen said. “It’s a logical industry-specific practice for an industrial headquarters.” more

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