UPDATE 1-Advent buys control of Serta mattress maker AOT

New York Youth Fund, August 5Reuters)-
The private equity firm said on Sunday that Advent International had agreed to buy a majority stake in the parent company AOT Bedding Super Holdings of Serta mattress maker National Bedding and Simmons.
The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but people familiar with the matter said AOT, including debt, was valued at about $3 billion.
The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, indicating a strong interest in a secondary acquisition or a private equity company selling shares to another company.
With the IPO market still volatile, the industry has a lot of money.
AOT\'s current investors are Ares Management LLC and the Ontario Teacher pension scheme, which will retain a minority stake after the transaction.
Keeping a minority stake can benefit current owners from the additional growth potential of AOT while locking in some of the profits they initially invested seven years ago.
Ares and Ontario Teachers bought National Bedding in 2005 for an undisclosed amount, and five years later added Simmons Bedding, which they bought from the bankruptcy of the United States. S.
Thomas H.
Li, a partner of about $0. 76 billion.
After the transaction was completed, the two manufacturers were classified as AOT Bedding Super Holding, a newly established holding company.
According to one source, Advent beat other private equity bidders such as Bain Capital and Berkshire Partners in the latest deal.
All declined to comment on the value of the deal.
People familiar with the matter asked for anonymity because the matter was not disclosed.
According to a person familiar with the matter, private equity owners seek to sell instead of IPO in order to take advantage of the powerful leveraged financing market.
National Bedding is Serta\'s largest licensee and major shareholder, with 18 factories in the United States and two in Canada. Atlanta-
Simmons Bedding is one of the largest mattress manufacturers in the world and a manufacturer of the Beautyrest brand.
Barclays as chief financial advisor, Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan
Consultant for AOT Bedding Super Holdings.