Pinellas Park-based Kane’s Furniture, a longtime Tampa Bay retailer with nearly 80 years of history and more than 1 million square feet of showroom space across Florida, has been acquired by Massachusetts private equity firm Onyx Partners Ltd.
The acquisition covers 18 retail properties across Florida, with Onyx closing on the first 11 in October and the remaining seven scheduled for early 2027, according to an announcement Wednesday, Nov. 4. Neither the purchase price nor the individual properties were disclosed, although the Needham-based firm described the locations as large retail properties along established commercial corridors in some of Florida’s busiest markets.
Those locations are central to the acquisition, according to Onyx founding partner Anton Melchionda, whose firm specializes in buying commercial real estate and operating businesses, often with plans to improve or reposition the properties.
“Kane’s has been part of Florida furniture retail for decades, and we’re pleased to partner with its ownership on this transaction,” Melchionda said. “These are well-located properties in one of the country’s strongest retail markets, and we look forward to positioning them for long-term success.”
Kane’s history began in 1948, when Maurice A. Rothman opened a furniture showroom in a converted rooming house at Eighth Street and Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg, a two-story building with about 12,000 square feet and no air conditioning. By 1958, the business had grown enough to open a roughly 50,000-square-foot St. Petersburg store, with subsequent expansion into other Florida markets eventually turning the local retailer into a statewide chain.
The company acquired Sarasota-based Savon Furniture in 1979 and Kane’s of Orlando in 1987, later bringing the Savon stores under the Kane’s name in 2014. Kane’s currently advertises 17 stores across Florida, including locations throughout Tampa Bay, Orlando and Southwest Florida, although Onyx has not identified how those stores correspond to the 18 properties included in the deal.
Onyx’s principals have completed more than 100 transactions representing over $2 billion in enterprise value during the past four decades, according to the firm. The company has not disclosed whether Kane’s existing management will remain, how its retail operations will be structured under the new ownership or what changes are planned following the remaining property closings in early 2027.