Herman Miller Inc., a Michigan-based manufacturing company, recently announced plans to acquire Stamford-based Design Within Reach Inc. for about $154 million.
The manufacturing company would gain an 84 percent ownership interest in Design Within Reach, a furniture retail and marketing company in Stamford’s Harbor Point. The deal is scheduled to close July 28, pending regulatory approval.
Design Within Reach CEO John Edelman and President John McPhee will continue leading the business within Herman Miller and report to Brian Walker, Herman Miller CEO, according to a press release from the Michigan company. Once the transaction is completed, Design Within Reach executives will own 8.5 percent of the stake in Herman Miller’s newly formed consumer business unit.
“In addition to enhancing Herman Miller’s brand visibility, we gain access to DWR’s growing and exclusive product portfolio and proven development capabilities,” Walker said in a statement. “In short, we believe this acquisition dramatically advances our strategic interests and benefits customers, our business partners and shareholders.”
Design Within Reach will stay in its 28,000-square-foot space, owned by Building and Land Technology, and will continue to operate as an independent brand. Some of its in-house products will be distributed to Herman Miller. The two companies have a long-standing business relationship: Herman Miller was one of the original companies represented in Design Within Reach’s product portfolio. It also is the furniture retailer’s largest supplier, according to the press release.
Design Within Reach, which was founded in 1998, had revenues of $218 million in 2013. In 2010, the company moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Stamford.
Herman Miller, which started in 1905 under a different name, has generated approximately $1.9 billion in revenue in 2014, the press release said.
