The proposed acquisition of the two brands has been canceled by Neighborhood Intelligence, which previously was called Bed Bath & Beyond.
The dizzying deal-making amongst these companies seems to be over following an announcement from Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Neighborhood Intelligence, that F9, parent company of Liquidators and Cabinets, had not met certain financial requirements. Lemonis did not go into great detail on what those requirements were, but some are speculating that F9 could not raise the funds it needed for the deal. F9 did not go into specifics either.
Lumber Liquidators, which went by the LL Flooring name before filing bankruptcy in 2024 and reverting to its original name, was bought back by the company’s original owner, who also owned Cabinets. The sequence of events seemed to culminate with the news in April that Neighborhood, then known as Bed Bath & Beyond, would be purchasing F9, which also owned several smaller home-related businesses, for about $150 million.
Now all the F9 units will revert to their status before the deal, with Lumber Liquidators operating about 200 stores (down from more than 400 under the LL name before it filed for bankruptcy) and Cabinets to Go owning about 100 showroom locations.
Lemonis had sought the two brands as part of his broader strategy to become a one-stop destination for home furnishings products and services, including mortgage financing and real estate brokerage. Besides the Bed Bath & Beyond brand, the company also owns The Container Store, BuyBuyBaby and Overstock.com, as well as what was the Kirkland chain of home décor and gift stores. It is currently in the process of reformatting many of its stores, combining them into different configurations. The flagship is the BBB/Container Store unit, which was scheduled to get Lumber Liquidators and Cabinets To Go departments. In fact, the first combo store, in Fort Worth, TX, was already building out those departments when it opened earlier this year. What F9’s president and CEO, Jason Delves, backed by Tom Sullivan, who started both brands, plans next for the company remains unknown. All of its stores remain open and it continues to take orders, it has been reported.
Given the volatility and ever-changing nature of Lemonis’ game plan, it’s possible we haven’t seen the last of the two companies getting together.
