Simmons underwent the first in a series of corporate mergers and acquisitions in 1979, when the company was acquired by Gulf+Western. Six years later, Gulf+Western sold Simmons to Wickes Corporation. Wesray Capital bought the business in 1986, and sold it to the Simmons employee stock ownership plan in 1989. Merrill Lynch Capital Partners obtained a majority interest in Simmons in 1991, and sold to Investcorp in about 1996. Fenway Partners bought the company about two years later, then sold to Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2003.