NORWALK, Ohio -- A local furniture company will stay in business under new ownership, helped by $4 million in loans from officials in Ohio and Mississippi.

Investment firms IRG Capital Group and Blackbird Capital Partners announced a deal on Monday to acquire Norwalk Furniture. With a national housing slump hurting furniture sales, the company suspended operations last month after a bank called its loan.

The company has fully resumed operations throughout the 106-year-old custom furniture manufacturing and retail business. The prospective new owners requested that terms of the sale remain confidential.

"IRG Capital Group and Blackbird Capital are a perfect match for this deal because they both believe strongly in the value of growing this company, the strength of its employees and the tradition of Norwalk's product," said Domenic Aversa, acting CEO and architect of the company's restructuring plan. "These investors are committed to building on the great tradition this company has represented for more than a century, and both have a long history of doing business in Ohio and investing in Ohio-based companies."

A news release said the company's restructuring plan includes a $2 million low-interest state loan from Ohio and a matching one from city and county officials in Fulton, Miss., where Norwalk Furniture has a factory with 300 employees.

About 500 people work at the headquarters and a factory in Norwalk.