Startups

It’s official: 1776 and Benjamin’s Desk announce merger

News of the merger comes weeks after initial reports of a deal between the two first broke. The combined company will retain the 1776 name.

Jen Maher and Evan Burfield. (Courtesy photo)

The deal is final: D.C.-based incubator 1776 and Philly coworking chain Benjamin’s Desk have officially merged their businesses in a new company that will retain the 1776 name.

Reports of a deal between the two companies first surfaced late last month, when a Washington Business Journal report said the Philly company was in talks to acquire 1776. A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to Technical.ly at the time that a deal was on the table, but that it was a merger, not a straight-up acquisition.

As part of the deal, former 1776 CEO Evan Burfield will become Executive Chairman, with the co-CEO duo of Anthony and Jen Maher taking their former titles in the new company. 1776’s UNION platform (which went live in Philly in the spring with Benjamin’s Desk as partner) will spinout into a separate company with Burfield at the helm.

Per BD’s Anthony Maher, no layoffs are expected in the wake of the merger, but rather more staff being brought on to help cover the “incubator system” across the northeast corridor.

Though no financial terms from the deal were made available, the Washington Post reports, citing three sources, that 1776 “struggled to stay cash-flow positive after its first year as new investments weighed heavily on its books.” The WaPo report also described the deal as a “complicated stock merger in which shareholders of both companies now hold significant ownership interests in the combined company.”

The combined network will be involved in the managing or operation of approximately 250,000 square feet of office space, including some 94,000 square feet currently operated under the 1776 brand and more than 138,000 square feet managed by Benjamin’s Desk and its licensing partners. Here’s the latest roundup of the Philly company’s locations.

Maher initially denied a merger was on the table, and said the talks were just “around how to help entrepreneurs and things like the Challenge Cup.” Last week, 1776’s Evan Burfield was on the stage alongside Jennifer Maher at the Benjamin’s Desk Challenge Cup, where he hinted again that more deals between the two would come.

Companies: 76 Forward

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Penn dean is a startup founder and ‘engineer at heart’ who loves the connection between education and business

20 tech community events in October you won’t want to miss

A glimpse into Philly’s thriving greentech scene, a bright spot on a national tour

Every startup community wants ‘storytelling.’ Too few are doing anything about it.

Technically Media