CHICAGO AND NEW YORK — Global commercial real estate services firms Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ have reached a definitive agreement to merge operations. According to multiple media outlets, DTZ is acquiring Cushman & Wakefield for approximately $2 billion. The new company, which will operate under the Cushman & Wakefield brand, will have revenues exceeding $5.5 billion, more than 43,000 employees and will manage more than 4 billion square feet globally on behalf of institutional, corporate and private clients.
“DTZ is elated to be merging under the prominent Cushman & Wakefield brand. The companies have remarkably complementary skills and reach in different geographies — whether in New York, London or Shanghai, this will be a formidable combination,” says Brett White, who will assume the role of chairman and CEO of the combined company. White has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and his previous role was CEO of CBRE.
“While breadth and depth are important to serve clients, it’s not just about size. It’s also about local expertise and deep customer service, which are strong traits of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ, and ultimately what will differentiate us going forward,” adds White.
Upon completion of the merger, Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, current international CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, will take a senior global leadership role. John Santora, current CEO of North America at Cushman & Wakefield, will become chief operating officer and chief integration officer and Tod Lickerman, current global CEO of DTZ, will assume the role of president of the global company.
The merger is supported by several involved investors from around the world. These include Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG; Hong Kong-based PAG; the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP); and Turin, Italy-based EXOR, which is Cushman & Wakefield’s 80.1 percent stockholder.
“The potential created by this combination would not have been possible without EXOR’s support and positioning of Cushman & Wakefield over the last eight years,” says David Bonderman, founding partner of TPG. “EXOR has achieved great success in growing a business that is performing extremely well, and once combined with DTZ, will be even better positioned to further capitalize on the real estate growth trends across the globe.”
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year and is subject to customary closing conditions.
In January of this year, DTZ closed on its acquisition of global real estate services firm Cassidy Turley. Earlier this month, Cushman & Wakefield closed its acquisition of J.F. McKinney + Associates, a leading real estate leasing firm in metropolitan Chicago.
Founded in 1917, New York-based Cushman & Wakefield has 259 offices in 60 countries, employing more than 16,000 professionals. The company’s 2014 annual gross revenue was $2.85 billion, an increase of 14 percent compared to 2013.
DTZ provides property management for 1.9 billion square feet and facilities management for 1.3 billion square feet. The company completed $63 billion in transaction volume globally in 2014 on behalf of institutional, corporate, government and private clients. Headquartered in Chicago, DTZ has more than 26,000 employees who operate across more than 260 offices in 50 countries.
— John Nelson