Italian lighting house Foscarini has officially acquired Ingo Maurer, the venerable German lighting company founded in 1966.
The deal involves the acquisition of 90 per cent of Ingo Maurer shares by Foscarini, with the remaining 10 per cent to stay with Sarah Utermöhlen, Ingo Maurer’s daughter.
Ingo Maurer GmbH the company is a brand that produces lighting systems and unique design lamps. Mauer is known for pieces that combine “the ordinary with the extraordinary,” using original craft processes at the headquarters in Munich by the Ingo Maurer team.
Foscarini states that it intends to “support its growth and development by further strengthening its ability to express a multifaceted and distinctive vision in the world of decorative lighting design.”
“Foscarini stands on the market as a global hub of creativity in the decorative lighting design sector, the sum of various creative freedoms that are reflected in extremely expressive proposals with strong personality”, said Carlo Urbinati, president and founder of Foscarini.
“With this step we have decided to invest in the uniqueness of the Ingo Maurer name, a brand that for us has always been a source of great inspiration and that we have always admired for its free vision and creative approach. We have had the opportunity to guarantee ourselves the honour and burden of playing a part in ensuring that the story of Ingo Maurer continues to be talked about around the world and support its further development on global markets – thanks to our solid and widespread commercial network which includes more than 2,500 retailers all over the world – with the specific intention of preserving its traditions, values, and distinctive expressiveness”.
“After carefully evaluating all the options, my sister Claude Mauer and I have decided that inclusion within the Foscarini creativity hub is the best strategy to enable Ingo Maurer to continue to strengthen its path of growth on a national and international level at the same time as conserving its founding traditions and values”, said Sarah Utermöhlen, who will keep a quota equal to 10 per cent of the company.
“Freedom, passion, charisma, and poetry; the values of the Foscarini brand could not be a better fit for Ingo Maurer. We are convinced Foscarini is the right company to give further impetus and development to the artistic world of Ingo. Thanks to Carlo Urbinati and his team, this step will be distinctive for its fusion of artistic ideas where Ingo’s unique light design will find further inspiration and be able to bring its point of view to a growing number of markets”.
