Is More Consolidation On the Way?
From Newmark to Grubb to Studley to now, possibly, Cassidy Turley, could more commercial real estate brokerage consolidation be on the way? (We snapped Cassidy Turley CEO Joe Stettinius at an event in LA earlier this year.) According to Crain's, Texas-based private equity company TPG Capital is in talks to acquire DC-based Cassidy to create a real estate services powerhouse along with DTZ, which TPG purchased in June. (A Cassidy Turley rep had no comment.) If it closes, the deal would represent a continuation of brokerages seeking a larger global presence, according to several veteran brokers we spoke with. And if going global isn't in your strategy, you'd better have a localized, nimble one instead, according to Bruce Baschuk, founder of the DC-based J Street Companies: "It's no secret that you've got to be either a global large, multi-faceted organization, or a very focused, local, disciplined one. Everything in the middle is at risk."
