DTZ to acquire Cushman & Wakefield for $2.04 bn

Italian investment firm Exor SpA, the majority stakeholder of Cushman & Wakefield, said yesterday that DTZ would acquire Cushman for $2.04 billion and operate under the Cushman & Wakefield name.

Together, they would have $5.5 billion in annual revenue and manage over 4 billion square feet of real estate.

The deal would be expected to be completed by the companies before the end of 2015, with the combined company having a 43,000-strong workforce.

According to Exor it would get $1.28 billion in net proceeds from its part of the sale.

Chicago-based DTZ, which was acquired by TPG Capital, PAG Asian Capital, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in November was focused on international real estate at the time.

DTZ acquired US-based Cassidy Turley two months later.

Cushman & Wakefield was established in 1917.

Exor is controlled by the Agnelli family, the descendants of the founder of Fiat, and as per FactSet, it was the largest investor in both Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and CNH Industrial NV, Fiat's former agriculture and construction equipment business.

The company was also looking to acquire reinsurance company PartnerRe Ltd, which had rejected its offers and said it planned to go through with a previously-announced merger with Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.

In addition to Fiat, which took control of struggling US rival Chrysler last year, the Agnelli empire includes Italian football club Juventus,CNH Industrial, which makes construction machinery and commercial vehicles.

Exor, the family's investment vehicle, was also a major investor in Almacantar, the London property developer which owns buildings including Oxford Street's landmark Centre Point. Fiat Chrysler and Exor had since 2003 been headed by John Elkann, the grandson of Gianni Agnelli.

DTZ reportedly fought off several rival bids for Cushman including one from one from the Shanghai-based Fosun International, which acquired a stake in UK holiday giant Thomas Cook earlier this year.

Cushman and DTZ had advised on a number of major investment and leasing deals, for big-name clients that include RBS, Amazon, French bank Société Générale and shopping mall giant Westfield.

DTZ plans to sell Tesco's Cheshunt headquarters, following the supermarket's decision to trim head-office staff. The combined entity would have revenues of over $5 billion, still behind industry leader CBRE, but closing behind second-placed JLL.

According to Elkann, the deal created a ''combined group of formidable reach and capability''. ''It gives us great satisfaction to see a business we have owned for many years become part of a new powerhouse in the sector as it approaches its centennial year,'' he added.