Cassidy Turley to be acquired by an affiliate of DTZ Investment Holdings

Cassidy Turley, one of the largest real estate brokerages in the Washington, D.C., region, announced a deal Monday that would make it a global powerhouse.

The company said it has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of DTZ Investment Holdings to sell 100 percent of the equity interests of Cassidy Turley.  A consortium of private equity firm TPG, PAG Asia Capital and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan already has agreed to acquire DTZ. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and is dependent on Cassidy Turley’s combination with the operations of DTZ Group (DTZ) to create a global, full-service commercial real estate services company.

The consortium’s acquisition of DTZ is scheduled to close around Oct. 31. The acquisition of Cassidy Turley is expected to close on Dec. 31.

The combination, which will retain the DTZ brand, would create a company with revenues of more than $2.9 billion and more than 28,200 total employees.

“Following a period of intensive mutual due diligence, we are confident that this combination is an excellent cultural fit as well as an opportunity to partner with a global brand,” Joseph Stettinius Jr., Cassidy Turley CEO, said in a statement.

Ben Gray, managing partner, Asia TPG, said, “Cassidy Turley is a leading real estate services business in the U.S. and will complement DTZ’s existing very strong businesses in Asia and Europe as well as DTZ’s existing U.S. businesses.” 

According to Gray, Brett White, former CEO of CBRE Group, is investing in the acquisition along with the consortium and will be joining the board of directors once the DTZ transaction is completed, before becoming executive chairman of the new company in March 2015.

Tod Lickerman will continue in his current role as global CEO of DTZ, while Stettinius will become chief executive of the Americas, Gray said in a statement. “The combined companies will create a game-changing organization — not only for us but for the entire industry,” said Stettinius.

Challenger Capital Group (whose M&A advisory team is now a part of Fifth Third Securities, Inc.) and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as joint financial advisors. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC acted as legal advisor.

Currently, Cassidy Turley has more than 4,000 professionals in more than 60 offices nationwide. With a headquarters in Washington, the company represents a wide range of clients — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, local nonprofits and major institutions. The firm completed transactions valued at $25.8 billion in 2013. It manages about 400 million square feet on behalf of institutional, corporate and private clients.