Equity Highlights April 2026

Below you will find recent Equity Highlights for a selection of Broyhill's portfolio companies. As always, we aim to make these easy to read and easy to repeat — so please share with anyone who might find them useful. 

Somnigroup to buy supplier Leggett & Platt for $2.5 billion. Somnigroup International, owner of the Tempur, Sealy, Mattress Firm, and Dreams bedding brands, agreed to acquire Leggett & Platt in an all-stock deal. Leggett & Platt had rejected Somnigroup's initial $1.6 billion December approach before entering a six-month NDA and standstill for further negotiations. The deal advances its vertical integration strategy by enabling closer collaboration between component engineering and mattress design. The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2026.

Grand theft cocoa. While we have been focusing on Nestle’s asset sales, we were reminded of just how in demand their core products are. In late March, a truck carrying 12 tons of Nestlé's new Formula One chocolate line molded to resemble race cars and part of KitKat's newly minted F1 sponsorship was hijacked en route from central Italy to Poland. Meanwhile, in the core business, Nestlé agreed to sell Blue Bottle Coffee to Centurium Capital, the controlling shareholder of Luckin Coffee, for $400 million, and is in advanced talks to sell a 50% stake in Perrier, San Pellegrino, and Acqua Panna for a roughly €5 billion valuation. Maybe they could use some of that cash to invest in security escorts. 

The first leg of Middleby's three-part transformation is complete, and the second is now staffed. In early February, the company closed the sale of a 51% stake in the Residential Kitchen business, including Viking, AGA, and La Cornue, to 26North Partners, securing roughly $540 million in upfront cash and a $135 million seller note. The unit was simultaneously rebranded as Composition Brands. Management then finalized the leadership team for the planned Food Processing spin-off, naming Amy Campbell as CFO alongside CEO Mark Salman. The separation remains on track for Q2 2026, with a standalone investor day scheduled for May 12. The company that began the year with three businesses will, by summer, effectively be a pure-play commercial foodservice equipment company.

Thermo Fisher closed the books on its largest acquisition since 2021. The company completed the $9 billion purchase of Clario Holdings on March 24, adding a leading provider of clinical trial endpoint data, including eClinical tools, cardiac safety, and respiratory assessment, to its Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment. Clario further extends Thermo Fisher's reach into trial execution, deepening its position as the company sponsors turn to first when outsourcing the operational and analytical layers of drug development.

Bernard Arnault continues to see value in his company. The Arnault family spent approximately $440 million on open-market purchases over two weeks, increasing their economic stake in LVMH from 49.77% to 50.01% of capital, a majority position, while voting rights remain at 65.94%. The move consolidates dynastic control and materially reduces the prospect of activist interference, but the more direct message is that the family views current prices as an attractive entry point into one of the world's most enduring luxury franchises.

Disclosures

Any statements above reflect the views of Broyhill Asset Management, LLC as of the posting date and are subject to change. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and reflects publicly available news regarding certain companies that represent a subset of our total exposure to all of our portfolio companies at the time of posting. This information is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Holdings and views expressed may not be current and are subject to change without notice. Please review our full disclosures for additional important information and disclosures.