IFIL Group acquires majority stake in Cushman & Wakefield.

Turin, Italy-based IFIL Group announced it has signed an agreement to acquire a 67.5 percent stake in Cushman & Wakefield Inc., New York, for $563 million.

Following the close of the transaction, IFIL will replace New York-based Rockefeller Group International Inc. as controlling shareholder of Cushman & Wakefield.

Securing IFIL as its partner puts Cushman & Wakefield in a position to take advantage of a consolidating industry to push forward with the firm's strategic growth plan, noted Bruce Mosler, chief executive officer of Cushman & Wakefield.

"Our partnership with the Rockefeller Group has been instrumental in supporting our growth in recent years throughout North America, Europe and Asia. With the IFIL team, we found an immediate meeting of the minds and a shared vision for the future," said Mosler.

"IFIL's knowledge of the regions and business areas we are targeting, its experience in the sector we serve, and a transaction structure that assures Cushman & Wakefield of strong financial flexibility will put us in an even more powerful position to accelerate our plan for growth," Mosler said.

For IFIL, the investment represents a unique opportunity to acquire a majority position in what is widely regarded as the commercial real estate sector's foremost brand, according to IFIL Vice Chairman John Elkann.

"We're delighted to be able to announce this partnership with Bruce Mosler and his team. Under his leadership, Cushman & Wakefield has successfully developed its business and brand, and we're excited at the prospect of partnering with this team for the company's next growth phase," said Elkann. "As a leader in a growing global services sector, Cushman & Wakefield is precisely the kind of company we've been looking for as we continue diversifying our investments."

IFIL may acquire as much as a further 8.1 percent of the equity capital from Cushman & Wakefield management and employees, who will retain up to 32.5 percent of the company's equity at the close of the transaction, said Elkann.

The Cushman & Wakefield acquisition will be primarily financed with IFIL's existing cash resources, with no additional leverage assumed by Cushman & Wakefield at the time of the transaction, ensuring that it retains complete financial flexibility with respect to its future growth objectives.

The transaction provides Cushman & Wakefield with continuity of both management and strategy. In particular, said Elkann, its fast-forward strategy is focused on extending Cushman & Wakefield's business in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of generating 50 percent of its revenues from outside the United States by 2011, and on increasing its presence in the investment services sector.

Following the transaction, the Cushman & Wakefield board of directors will consist of Carlo Sant'Albano, Alessandro Potesta, Michael Bartolotta and Pierre Martinet from IFIL; and Bruce Mosler, John Cushman and John Santora from Cushman & Wakefield.

The transaction requires regulatory approval, and was expected to close at the end of January.