Tempur Sealy Sought Mattress Deal to ‘Block New Competition’

Tempur Sealy International Inc. wanted to buy Mattress Firm Inc. to eliminate its biggest rival, according to newly unsealed documents in the government lawsuit seeking to block the deal.

Tempur Sealy’s top executive wrote comments on the cover of a May 2022 presentation about the deal saying that buying Mattress Firm would “eliminate future competition” and “block new competition,” according to the documents, which were unsealed by a Texas judge late Thursday.

The US Federal Trade Commission sued in federal court to block the $4 billion acquisition last month. Tempur Sealy is the world’s largest mattress manufacturer with top brands ...