Icade acquires 81.5% of Comet for €40M and enhances its service offering
Real estate company Icade has announced the acquisition of a majority stake of 81.5% in Comet, a corporate events and real estate services platform founded in 2016. This transaction, valued at approximately €40M (potentially reaching €55M with an earn-out contingent on 2026 targets), marks a strategic turning point for the group: shifting from a purely asset-based model to an enriched service offering centered on user experience.
An acquisition valued between €40M and €55M to diversify value proposition
Icade announced on July 30 the acquisition of an 81.5% stake in Comet, a company founded in 2016 around three complementary business lines: corporate events (Comet Meetings), operational services for buildings (Comet Hospitality), and flexible workspaces (Comet Workplaces). The total cost for Icade amounts to approximately €40M, with the possibility of an earn-out of up to approximately €55M if the target achieves its performance objectives in 2026. This acquisition comes as Icade confirmed on July 21 its annual guidance for Group Current Net Cash Flow (between €2.90 and €3.10 per share), despite an 11.5% decline in cash flow in the first half of 2026. Comet currently operates 14 sites (12 in Île-de-France and 2 in Europe) and serves nearly 7,000 corporate clients, mostly large accounts. In 2025, the platform generated revenue of €43.9M with positive operational profitability, a profile that attracts Icade in its desire to create new revenue streams around the management and activation of office buildings.
Transforming the use of tertiary spaces beyond real estate
This transaction reflects a strategic shift at Icade: moving from the role of landlord-owner to that of partner offering a complete experience to its tenants. Nicolas Joly, Chief Executive Officer of Icade, stated that Comet brings unique expertise in spaces designed to promote exchange and conviviality, thereby enriching the group's value proposition. The context of this merger is based on a major evolution in the tertiary real estate market: according to an Ipsos survey commissioned by Icade in 2025, three out of four employees wish to be able to come to the office every day to reconnect with their teams and share a common culture—challenges that remote work alone cannot address. This dynamic is pushing Icade to reposition the office not as a simple workspace, but as a genuine place for services, interactions, and experiences. The acquisition of Comet fits into this transformation and opens, according to the group, new growth drivers for its real estate portfolio.
Comet founders welcome a long-term partner
Victor Carreau, Nicholas Findling, and Maxime Albertus, co-founders of Comet, have expressed their enthusiasm at joining a reference group capable of accelerating the deployment of their expertise on a larger scale. They share with Icade a common vision of the office of tomorrow: more flexible, more welcoming, and more use-focused. This momentum adds to a series of recent strategic moves by Icade, notably the acquisition of 100% of Tour Eqho in La Défense (July 15) and the signature of 20,000 m² of leases in the outer La Défense area with DRIEETS, SNCF, and the Ministry of the Interior (July 28).
