Lately, it's been tough for furniture retailers. After all, Wickes Furniture, owned by private equity operator Sun Capital Partners, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

So, this might dampen interest in the sector? Perhaps not. Interestingly enough, Sun Capital wants to make a bid for Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN). Keep in mind that the fund is the #3 shareholder in the company (a 9.4% equity stake). The offer is a bit vague though as it is a "substantial premium."

Jason Bernzweig, the vice president at Sun, has sent a letter to Furniture Brands. Simply put, he thinks that - given the tough macroeconomic environment - the company needs to take aggressive action on cost cutting. To this end, he thinks this can be best accomplished as a private company (where there is less pressure to take short-term actions).

Bernzweig also mentioned that there is buyout interest from two strategic players.

In other words, there's lots of pressure on Furniture Brands to do a deal - and fast.

In today's trading, the company's stock price is up 20% to $12.48.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Sun shines on Furniture Brands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.