Bolivar-based Teters Floral sells to investment group

Private equity firm Fenway Partners, also in New York, had owned Teters Floral for 12 years under the holding company Decorative Concepts Inc.

A group of Bolivar-based senior managers, including Looker and company President Mark Johnson, have obtained minority equity positions in Teters Floral. The New York investment group – Bleacher Partners – is led by Elliott Jones, who now serves as chairman of Teters Floral’s board of directors.

The acquisition closed Aug. 31.

Teters Floral will continue operations as usual, selling its products through retail clients, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and Kirkland’s Home, Looker said.

Teters Floral was started in 1957 by Bolivar’s Teters family, which also established Teters Florist, a retail flower shop still operating in Bolivar. Both companies have not been under family ownership since the 1970s, and Teters Floral Products has had a series of corporate owners. Teters Floral Products has its headquarters at 1425 S. Lillian Ave. in Bolivar.

See SBJ’s Nov. 12 issue for more on the Teter’s Floral acquisition.