CBRE acquires India affiliate.

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. announced the acquisition of a majority interest in CB Richard Ellis South Asia Pte Ltd (CBRE India), a CB Richard Ellis affiliate company operating in 30 cities across the rapidly growing India market.

CB Richard Ellis' expansion in the India market comes at a time of strong economic activity, continued growth of FORTUNE 500 corporate space occupiers, loosened restrictions on foreign investment resulting in higher capital flows into real estate, and increased commercial and residential real estate development.

CBRE India, based in Delhi, has been the CB Richard Ellis affiliate in India since 1994, and today has a staff of over 1,000 professionals providing a full spectrum of real estate services, including Leasing, Property and Facilities Management, Investment Sales, Project Management, Consulting Services and Valuation/Appraisal.

Over more than a decade, CBRE India has executed more than 22 million square feet of leasing transactions and approximately 30 million square feet in project management assignments, and advised major corporations throughout the world on their real estate strategies in India. For example, CBRE India has arranged lease transactions for global companies including Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, McAfee and JPMorgan Chase and Hewlett-Packard. CBRE India also manages 40 million square feet of commercial properties and corporate facilities.

Robert Blain, president of CB Richard Ellis Asia-Pacific, said: "The acquisition of CBRE India fits perfectly with our strategy of achieving the leadership position in major business centers around the world.

"We see India--along with China and Japan--as one of the key drivers of our growth in Asia. We have worked closely with CBRE India as our affiliate, and have now cemented even closer ties as the economy and real estate market in India continue to boom."