Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ Announce Completion of Merger
Creates one of the largest commercial real estate services firms in the world
Sydney– September 2, 2015 – The new Cushman & Wakefield, a global leader in commercial real estate services, announced today the successful completion on September 1 of the merger between Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ.
The new Cushman & Wakefield draws on the best of both legacy organisations to create one of the world’s largest real estate services firms, with a combined total of $5 billion in revenue, 43,000 employees, more than 4.3 billion square feet under management, and $191 billion in transaction value. In Asia Pacific, the firm now has more than 7,000 people operating in 21 offices, across 11 countries including Australia, Singapore, India, Japan, and New Zealand.
Cushman & Wakefield will be led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brett White, and Global President Tod Lickerman. Stuart Roberts assumes the title of Chief Executive Asia Pacific and will lead the effort to implement a strategic growth plan for the business throughout the region. Cushman & Wakefield is owned by an investor group composed of TPG, PAG, and OTPP.
“This is a game-changing event in commercial real estate,” said Mr. White. “Both legacy firms had been aggressively growing their respective platforms and deepening their reach into the market with new acquisitions and talent. Now we have the opportunity to see these ambitions come together – capturing the momentum in the market and clearly claiming our position at the top of the industry.”
Cushman & Wakefield now operates in more than 60 countries around the world and is well-positioned in every major market for continued growth. The new Cushman & Wakefield is a top-tier global commercial real estate service provider in every service line and every major geography in the world. With a tenacious, entrepreneurial and client-centric culture of highly skilled people behind both firms, the new company will be able to tap into greater resources worldwide to ultimately deliver superior results for clients.
Mr. Lickerman said, “The completion of the merger is a historic leap forward, but it isn’t the end of our journey. Today is an important milestone that propels us into a future rich with opportunity for our clients, our people, and our company.”
“The formation of the new Cushman & Wakefield is the next chapter in the most exciting growth story in the real estate industry,” said TPG Founding Partner, David Bonderman. "TPG is excited to partner with Brett and his management team as they continue to grow the business.”
Leadership
Cushman & Wakefield has built a team that will provide the experience, management skill, business acumen, and client service expertise necessary to bring an aggressive growth strategy and global platform to life. The new leadership has developed an operating model to organise and mobilise for clients locally, regionally, and globally.
“I am confident that our people, armed with exceptional resources and the excitement of being in the centre of this powerful evolution of our industry, will deliver a level of service and quality to our clients equal to the very best our industry has to offer,” said Mr. White.
The new Asia Pacific leadership team comprises the following members:
Country Leaders
James Patterson – Chief Executive, Australia and New Zealand
Toby Dodd – Managing Director, Singapore
Sanjay Dutt – Managing Director, India
Todd Olsen – Managing Director, Japan
Somchai Sittinatho – Managing Director, Thailand
Matt Shaw – Managing Director, Indonesia
Richard Hwang– Managing Director, Korea
Alex Crane – Managing Director, Vietnam
Joe Curran – Managing Director, Philippines
Asia Pacific Service Lines
Sanjay Verma – Chief Executive, Global Occupier Services
Sam Cuccurullo – Head of Property & Asset Management
Theo Knipfing – Head of Retail
Gary Hollis– Head of Capital Markets
K.K. Chiu – Head of Valuations
Business Functions
Diane Christensen – Head of Human Resources
Sheridan Ware– Head of Technology
Davina Cassell – Head of Marketing and Communications
Brett Soloway– Acting Head of Legal and Compliance
Ian Stephenson – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Roberts said, “We have built a strong Asia Pacific leadership team that reflects real diversity of thought leadership, experience, and background, drawing from the best in the industry. Our depth of services and intimate local knowledge of each market has been further strengthened as we combine the complementary skills and talent from both firms. We will be positioned well for significant growth across the region and beyond as we unite as a single global firm.
“Across Asia Pacific, we will be focused on creating and growing a business, a culture and a client experience that is unique and reflective of our combined heritage, and more importantly, our future aspirations.”
New Visual Identity
As part of the announcement, Cushman & Wakefield is also unveiling a new visual identity and logo, reflecting the legacy of a trusted global brand, drawing on a wider history, and positioning the firm for the future.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Davina Cassell
Head of Marketing and Communications
+61 2 9224 8030
davina.cassell@cushwake.com
Media Contact:
Sam Wallman
Six Degrees
+61 (0) 405 399 430
sam.wallman@sdir.com.au
- END-
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a global leader in commercial real estate services, helping clients transform the way people work, shop, and live. The firm’s 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries provide deep local and global insights that create significant value for occupiers and investors around the world. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenues of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (branded C&W Services), global occupier services, investment management (branded DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.
About TPG
TPG is a leading global private investment firm founded in 1992, with approximately $75 billion of assets under management and offices in San Francisco, Fort Worth, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. TPG has extensive experience with global public and private investments executed through leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, growth investments, joint ventures and restructurings. In North America, some of TPG’s best known corporate and real estate investments have included Burger King, Northern Tier Energy, Petco, J. Crew, Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE:TMHC), ST Residential, Hotwire, Neiman Marcus and Chobani. TPG has been active in Asia for 20 years and has completed major investments in Shenzhen Development Bank, China Grand Auto and BTPN. TPG has also been very active in Australia with investments in Healthscope, Myer Department Stores and Inghams. For more information visit www.tpg.com.
About PAG
PAG is one of the largest Asian based alternative investment managers with funds under management across Private Equity, Real Estate and Absolute Return strategies. PAG currently has US$12 billion in capital under management, with over 300 staff and offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Shenzhen, and Delhi. PAG Asia Capital (“PAGAC”), the private equity strategy of PAG, is a pan-Asian buyout fund and its current portfolio includes control and structured investments across the financial services, pharmaceuticals, automotive services, media and entertainment and consumer retail sectors. In addition to the extensive investment experience in private equity, PAG has a solid track record in real estate, completing over 500 real estate related transactions throughout Asia with total investment value in excess of US$20 billion. For more information visit www.pagasia.com.
About OTPP
With C$154.5 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2014, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 311,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, including our annual reports from 2014 and previous years, visit www.otpp.com. Follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.