- Casper CEO Philip Krim’s obsession with securing a $1 billion “unicorn” valuation derailed three potential buyouts of the online mattress seller, according to the New York Post.
- The startup, which filed to go public last week, discussed a sale with Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons last year, but both mattress retailers walked away when Krim refused to budge on price, the newspaper reported.
- “Casper never pursued a sale in 2019,” a company spokeswoman told the New York Post.
- Casper reportedly held sale talks with Target in 2017, but the retail giant ended up taking a minority stake, possibly because it only offered about $900 million, venture-capital sources told the newspaper.
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Casper CEO Philip Krim’s obsession with securing a $1 billion valuation — making his online mattress seller a “unicorn” — derailed three potential buyouts of the business, according to the New York Post.
Casper — which filed to go public last week — discussed a sale with mattress retailers Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons last year, the New York Post reported, citing unnamed sources. However, both suitors walked away when Krim refused to budge from the $1 billion price tag.
“Serta Simmons had no money, and Tempur Sealy had no interest,” one source told the newspaper.
The startup denied the report. “Casper never pursued a sale in 2019,” a spokeswoman told the New York Post.
Casper held “serious acquisition discussions” with Target in 2017, according to Recode, but the retail giant ended up taking a minority stake. One reason may be that it only offered about $900 million for the company, the New York Post reported, citing venture capital sources.
“That was just hubris,” a New York-based venture capitalist told the newspaper, adding that Casper would “regret not selling to Target.”
Casper’s IPO filing revealed that its net revenue grew 20% to $312 million in the nine months to September 30, but higher costs meant its operating loss widened slightly to just over $65 million.
The business was privately valued at about $1.1 billion last February, which bodes well for its public debut. However, coworking startup WeWork was valued at $47 billion in early 2019, but ended up shelving its IPO in September and accepting a bailout at a $8 billion valuation.
