Chris Bryant, Columnist

Steinhoff's $3.8 Billion Mattress Is Overstuffed

Why did the South African company need 3,500 American mattress stores?

May 7, 2018 at 7:00 AM UTC

Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times.

Why did scandal-hit Steinhoff need to buy 3,500 American mattress stores?
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images North America

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Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s auditors are still trying to unpick a massive accounting scandal, which caused the acquisitive South African retailer’s share price to collapse in December and triggered a scramble to conserve cash.

I won’t pretend to know the full details of what went on there. But just looking at one problematic Steinhoff deal — the $3.8 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm Holding Corp. in 2016 — does offer two big lessons for investors: