LOS ANGELES, CA - CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of ING Clarion Real Estate Securities (CRES) from Netherlands-based ING Group N.V. (ING). CB Richard Ellis’ acquisition of substantially all of ING’s Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) operations in Europe and Asia remains on schedule to close later this year. The total purchase price for the ING CRES and REIM businesses is approximately $940 million.
The newly acquired global listed securities business will operate as CBRE Clarion Securities, and will be part of CB Richard Ellis Investors, the Company’s Global Investment Management business segment.
“We are very pleased to add Clarion Securities’ premier global listed securities programs to our comprehensive suite of investment offerings,” said Matt Khourie, Global President of CB Richard Ellis Investors. “This move sharply expands the spectrum of indirect real estate investment vehicles we offer investors and brings a talented team of securities-focused investment professionals to our company.”
“We are thrilled to join CB Richard Ellis Investors,” said Ritson Ferguson, CEO of CBRE Clarion Securities. “We are excited to be part of the world’s pre-eminent commercial real estate services firm. This provides an excellent foundation from which to serve our clients and furthers our goal of delivering the best possible results for them over the long term.”
The ING CRES portfolio of listed securities totaled approximately $20.5 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2011. CBRE Investors had $37.9 billion of total assets under management as of March 31, 2011, including $2.4 billion of listed real estate securities.
As part of the CRES transaction, CB Richard Ellis has also acquired approximately $59 million of CRES co-investments from ING. CB Richard Ellis will finance the ING acquisitions with a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under its secured credit facility. The Company raised $800 million of new bank debt for this purpose in March 2011.
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2010 revenue). The Company has approximately 31,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting.