Merged Cushman & Wakefield keeps bulk of brokers.

The ink has officially dried on the merger deal between Cushman & Wakefield and Cushman Realty Corporation, the two firms announced last week.

"Exciting as the anticipation of the merger's completion has been for us all at Cushman & Wakefield and Cushman Realty, the reality is even more satisfying because we have come together to hit the ground running as a dynamic organization dedicated to serving our clients," said Arthur Mirante II, president and chief executive officer of Cushman & Wakefield.

The firms, which will now operate under the name Cushman & Wakefield, announced plans to merge in April. Terms of the merger were not announced because the two companies are private. The transaction was made final after Cushman & Wakefield due diligence and board approvals, including the approval of the Rockefeller Group, Cushman & Wakefield's parent company.

With the merger, Cushman & Wakefield retained 98 percent of Cushman Realty brokers, which was one of the goals of the deal. President of U.S. operations Bruce Mosler said this was a significant accomplishment considering the lucrative incentives being offered by some companies to lure brokers.

"At the time we were doing the merger, there was still some frenzy in the marketplace. There were still some companies offering substantial incentives to join their firms," Mosler said. "To retain 98 percent of (Cushman Realty's) brokers is an unbelievable accomplishment."

Mosler did acknowledge that there were layoffs, but said they were "not significant."

"Like any other merger or acquisition, there were some redundancies," he said.

The merged company will have 965 brokers in 174 offices worldwide. In 2000, the two firms had combined revenues in excess of $900 million and lease and sale transactions of $37 billion. With the merger, Cushman & Wakefield added clients such as Boeing Corporation to its client roster. Cushman Realty recently represented the company in its corporation relocation to Chicago from Seattle, according to company officials.

The merger reunited twin brothers Louis Cushman and John Cushman III with the company their grandfather and great uncle founded in 1917. Cushman Realty Corp. was started in 1978, and prior to the merger, had 200 employees - including 90 brokers -- in 11 offices across the country. Louis Cushman currently serves as vice chairman and a member of the new company's board and John Cushman will serve as chairman of the board and report to Mirante, Cushman & Wakefield's president and chief executive officer.

Among reasons cited for the merger were that it gives Cushman & Wakefield added strength in some geographic areas in the United States and is part of a "Pacific Rim Strategy" aimed at creating synergy with the firm's core businesses throughout Asia.

"The powerful synergies of this deal were a clear and compelling driver from the start," Mosler said. "Our combined brokerage force will be formidable nationally and internationally, and perhaps dominate in the Far West and Rocky Mountain areas."

Cushman & Wakefield officials said the benefits of the merger were evident during a recent transaction when the firms secured an assignment of 167,000 SF of Class A space under construction in Tempe, Arizona for Tosco Marketing Company.

Mosler said Cushman & Wakefield does not anticipate pursuing any more mergers in the near future. Instead, it will focus on the ones they've already completed recently, such as the Apartment Group.

"C & W is looking at this as a moment in time to build on the investments in our core businesses, to grow our market share in these areas," Mosler said.