Cushman & Wakefield buys South American partner.

In a strategic move that completes its Americas platform and enhances global services to clients, Cushman & Wakefield announced today it has acquired the ownership interest of a longtime partner to assume full control of Cushman & Wakefield South America.

Cushman & Wakefield, which already owned 80% of its South American operations, purchased the remaining 20% ownership interest in the firm's South American operations from Sao Paulo-based Semco Group. Cushman & Wakefield and Semco had been in a partnership for the past 12 years.

With offices in Sao Paulo (the headquarters for Central and South America), Rio de Janeiro, Manaus and Buenos Aires, and operations in Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, Cushman & Wakefield South America has more than 2,300 employees in the region.

"This reflects on our strategy to achieve 50% of our revenues from outside the U.S., through selective but aggressive acquisitions where the market and cultural fit is strong," said Cushman & Wakefield president and CEO Bruce Mosler.

In the past two years, Cushman & Wakefield has fully acquired its market-leading Canada and Russia operations, and assumed a 100 percent interest in its powerful Mexico operations.

The firm's object-ive with this acquisition is to increase local investments and to strengthen its presence in South America, at a time when an increasing number of corporate clients have requirements in the region.

"This is a key move to fully integrate our service platform throughout North and South America," said Tony Marano, CEO, Americas. "From an outright ownership position, we will seek to accelerate our expansion and delivery of service offerings."

In the South American region, C&W manages a 70 million square foot portfolio of corporate and industrial properties, with assets valued around R$10 billion and negotiated transactions involving assets of more than R$500 million last year.