Pinellas Park-based Kane’s Furniture, a longtime Florida retailer featuring nearly 80 years of history and over 1 million square feet of total showroom space across the state, has been acquired by private equity firm Onyx Partners Ltd., TBBW reported on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
exact deal encompasses 18 retail properties distributed across Florida commercial hubs. Needham, Massachusetts-based Onyx Partners completed the closing on the first 11 properties in October, with the remaining seven properties scheduled to close in early 2027. Neither the transaction price nor the specific addresses of the individual properties were disclosed in the announcement, though Onyx described the real estate footprint as large retail sites positioned along established commercial corridors inside some of the busiest markets in Florida.
These real estate assets serve as central elements of the transaction, according to Onyx founding partner Anton Melchionda. The Massachusetts firm specializes in acquiring commercial real estate alongside operating businesses, often maintaining plans to improve or reposition the physical assets. Melchionda told TBBW that Kane's has maintained a long presence in Florida furniture retail and stated that his firm looks forward to positioning the well-located properties for long-term success in a strong retail environment.
The commercial roots of Kane’s date back to 1948, when founder Maurice A. Rothman established a small furniture showroom inside a converted rooming house located at Eighth Street and Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg. That initial footprint spanned roughly 12,000 square feet across two stories and operated without air conditioning. By 1958, the enterprise had expanded sufficiently to open a 50,000-square-foot facility in St. Petersburg, laying the groundwork for eventual expansion into additional Florida markets and transforming the business from a local retail shop into a statewide footprint.
Growth continued over subsequent decades through key corporate acquisitions. Kane’s acquired Sarasota-based Savon Furniture in 1979 and purchased Kane’s of Orlando in 1987. Decades later, in 2014, the company brought the Savon locations under the primary Kane’s brand name. Kane’s currently advertises 17 active store locations across Florida, with operations spread throughout the Tampa Bay area, Orlando, and Southwest Florida. Onyx has not publicly clarified how those 17 active retail stores align with the 18 specific properties included in the buyout deal.
Onyx’s leadership team has completed more than 100 commercial transactions representing over $2 billion in total enterprise value across the past four decades, according to company statements. However, details regarding the future operational setup of the furniture chain remain unannounced. The firm has not revealed whether Kane’s existing management team will stay in place, how the retail operations will be structured under new ownership, or what specific property changes are planned following the final closing stage scheduled for early 2027.
