Steelcase Inc. Wednesday announced it has acquired Viccarbe Habitat, S.L., a Spanish designer of contemporary furniture for high-performance collaborative and social spaces. The acquisition builds on more than 10 years of successful partnership between Viccarbe and Steelcase.
Founded in Valencia in 2000 by Victor Carrasco and Daniel Benedito, Viccarbe’s heritage and Spanish roots are a key part of its design story and brand positioning. “We inspire Mediterranean experiences in collaborative spaces through the creation of warm and timeless pieces,” said Victor Carrasco. “The Viccarbe collection is the result of years of work in partnership with the most prestigious international designers. My dream has long been to expand our reach and impact in the world, and we are excited to achieve this together with Steelcase.”
“We are excited to bring our portfolios together and leverage our global scale to manufacture and distribute Viccarbe’s products around the world,” said Allan Smith, senior vice president, chief revenue officer at Steelcase. “We expect to drive strong growth of the Viccarbe portfolio by making it even more accessible to our customers and dealers.”
Steelcase offers a wide selection of ancillary products that work together to create high-performing applications – all available from a single trusted source and delivered through its global dealer network. “Through applied research and user insights, our high-performing ancillary applications consider the relationship between posture, privacy, proximity, and personality to design spaces where people feel a sense of psychological comfort and can be their most productive,” said Smith. “Viccarbe has tremendous design sensibilities and has a track record of translating those designs into commercially successful products that support new ways of working.”
Viccarbe has been a leader in designing ancillary spaces for over 20 years, partnering with leading global talent such as Jean-Marie Massaud, John Pawson, Patricia Urquiola, Piero Lissoni, Naoto Fukasawa, and Jaime Hayon. Viccarbe uses insights on how people socialize, collaborate, and learn to elevate performance in hospitality, learning, corporate, and now, outdoor spaces – creating places to be both productive and inspired.
The transaction involves the acquisition of all the outstanding capital stock of Viccarbe in an all-cash transaction for €30 million (or $35 million) less an adjustment for working capital, with additional consideration of up to €19 million payable to the sellers over five years based on the achievement of certain performance targets, milestones and continued employment. Steelcase funded the acquisition using cash on hand. Viccarbe reported revenue of approximately €14.5 million over the trailing twelve months through September 2021.