Serta is a company based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois that specializes in making mattresses. It was founded in 1931 by 13 mattress manufacturers who licensed the Serta name; subsequently eight independent licensees acting like a cooperative owned the company. After which, it was controlled and operated as Serta International by its largest licensee, National Bedding Company, . In 2005, two private equity groups teamed up to purchase National Bedding Co.--The Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund, the Los Angeles-based private equity fund of Ares Management; and Teachers’ Private Capital, the private equity arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. read more