In one of its biggest acquisitions ever, CBRE is paying $1.3 billion for a majority stake project manager Turner & Townsend.
The world’s biggest commercial real estate services firm is acquiring 60 percent of the London-based company. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal and a press release, with Turner & Townsend’s leadership team remaining in place and retaining a 40 percent stake.
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The impetus for the deal appears to be growing interest in alternative energy and infrastructure investments. CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic said many of his owners and corporate tenants want to reduce their carbon footprint, the Journal reported.
Turner & Townsend is one of the world’s largest project managers of infrastructure, real estate construction and natural resources projects. The company was already planning on expanding into the alternative energy arena prior to the acquisition talks, and the CBRE deal is expected to accelerate those plans.
Turner & Townsend, which will continue to deliver services under its brand, has clients in 46 countries and has worked on such high-profile projects as The Shard in London. CBRE has clients in more than 100 countries. The acquisition will allow it to expand in the Pacific Rim and the Middle East.
CBRE has recently focused on diversifying, adding consulting as well as project and property management to its commission-based transactions. That pivot helped the company record $5.94 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2021.
[WSJ] — Holden Walter-Warner