Retail chain Mattress Firm Inc. has hired Guggenheim Partners to negotiate a debt restructuring with corporate parent Steinhoff International Holdings NV, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Guggenheim is trying to strike a deal to restructure the hundreds of millions of debt Mattress Firm owes to Steinhoff, the troubled South African owner of retail brands. The debt talks may end in an effort by Guggenheim to sell the mattress retailer. Guggenheim is early in its efforts at Mattress Firm, and no bankruptcy is contemplated currently. Steinhoff, which has €9.6 billion ($11.07 billion) in debt, saw its share-price plummet after disclosing accounting irregularities last fall. In July, the South African retailer got some breathing space from its creditors, reaching a deal with most of its bondholders and lenders suspending all interest payments and debt maturities for three years. Steinhoff paid $2.6 billion for Mattress Firm in 2016, with the aim of expanding its presence in the mattress industry. The sale occurred less than a year after Mattress Firm bought Sleepy’s mattress stores for $780 million.
