TA Associates Completes $35M Investment in Lumber

Boston, MA, January 4--TA Associates, a leading private equity and buyout firm, has completed a $35 million investment in Lumber Liquidators, Inc., the largest direct retailer specializing in hardwood flooring in the United States. Originally based in Boston, Massachusetts and now headquartered in Toano, Virginia, Lumber Liquidators has 60 stores nationwide and sells pre-finished and unfinished hardwood flooring at reduced prices. Lumber Liquidators specializes in a variety of flooring options as low as 99 cents per square foot, including the increasingly popular pre-finished flooring products that do not require complicated installation or on-site finishing processes. About half of Lumber Liquidators' customers are individuals, many of whom install the flooring themselves. "We are pleased to make this investment in Lumber Liquidators," said Richard D. Tadler, a managing director at TA Associates who will join Lumber Liquidators' board of directors. "Due to their constant commitment to high-quality, low-cost products, Lumber Liquidators has become the stand-alone leader in hardwood flooring and is positioned to remain a leader as the home improvement market continues to grow." "This exciting partnership with TA Associates represents a great opportunity for Lumber Liquidators," said founder and chief executive officer Tom Sullivan. "Our relationship with TA gives us a competitive advantage as we build upon our solid track record and achieve our next stage of expansion." The U.S. hardwood flooring market grew 6% to $2 billion in 2003. About 90% of wood flooring sales were for residential installations last year and, today, hardwood flooring consumption is most influenced by the residential replacement and repair markets. "The U.S. hardwood flooring market continues to grow due to current trends in new home building and home improvement projects," said Tadler. "Analysts believe that these trends will flourish over the next few years. Lumber Liquidators is positioned to succeed in this developing sector given its expertise in providing consumers with a wide variety of hardwood flooring options at competitive prices." TA Associates has more than 36 years of investing experience, focusing on profitable, growth-oriented companies. The firm has extensive expertise in the consumer sector. Its prior investments in this sector include Jenny Craig, PowerBar, Smith Alarm Systems, Tempur-Pedic International and United Pet Group.

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