Jones Lang LaSalle announces $2bn acquisition of HFF

Chicago-based real estate and investment management firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HFF, Inc. The deal will see JLL pay approximately US$2bn for HFF in both cash and stock. Under the terms of the agreement, HFF shareholders will receive $24.63 in cash and 0.1505 JLL shares for each HFF share.

Based in Dallas, Texas, HFF is an industry-leading commercial real estate capital markets intermediary with a long history in the sector and deep relationships with some of the industry’s most important clients. Since 1998, HFF has closed more than $800bn in over 27,000 transactions, achieving record revenue in 2018 of more than $650mn. As part of the acquisition, Mark Gibson, CEO of HFF, will join JLL as CEO, Capital Markets, Americas and Co-Chair of its Global Capital Markets Board.

"Increasing the scale of our Capital Markets business is one of the key priorities in our Beyond strategic vision to drive long-term sustainable and profitable growth. The combination with HFF provides a unique opportunity to accelerate growth and establish JLL as a leading capital markets intermediary, with outstanding capabilities," said Christian Ulbrich, Global CEO of JLL. "We have long admired HFF for its expertise and leading reputation in the industry, as well as its client-first culture of teamwork, ethics and excellence, which aligns with our own. I believe that combining our organizations will deliver a range of compelling benefits for our clients, employees and shareholders."

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"This is a terrific transaction for our shareholders, providing them with an immediate cash payment and the opportunity to participate in the long-term value of the combined company," said Gibson. "In addition, we believe the combination with JLL will create a superior platform for our shareholders, clients and employees than either company would have independent of the other and will significantly accelerate our firm's strategic plan. JLL's team-oriented culture with the additional standards of high character and integrity are an excellent match with the HFF culture, which has been HFF's fundamental differentiator since its inception."

The deal is expected to close in Q3, 2019 and deliver savings of $60mn over the subsequent three years.