The shock announcement comes just three years after the company's sale by its founding family to a private-equity firm. : The shock announcement comes just three years after the company's sale by its founding family to a private-equity firm. Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only. This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you. You do not need a Facebook profile to participate. You will need to register before adding a comment. Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in. Please be polite.