HFF, regarded as one of the premier capital markets advisors in the industry, had more than $650 million in revenue in 2018 and approximately 1,050 employees with long-term client relationships, first-class skills and deep knowledge of U.S. as well as global markets.
JLL’s acquisition of this exceptional firm aligns with one of the key priorities of JLL’s Beyond strategic vision, which is to grow its Capital Markets business. The combination of JLL and HFF enables greatly enhanced capital markets services and significantly expanded client reach. Clients will benefit from a global team of more than 3,700 capital markets professionals across 47 countries, delivering new expertise and scale, more extensive market coverage and greater deal flow.
With the acquisition complete, Mark Gibson, former CEO of HFF, joins JLL as CEO, Capital Markets, Americas and Co-Chair of its Global Capital Markets Board.
“We are delighted to bring together JLL and HFF to create one of the most strategic, connected and creative capital advisors in the world,” said Christian Ulbrich, Global CEO of JLL. “By combining the impressive capabilities, talent and expertise that distinguish both organizations, we will deliver exciting new growth opportunities and ensure we are best positioned to achieve ambitions for our clients and all our stakeholders. We warmly welcome our new HFF colleagues to the JLL family.”
“The response from our clients, brokers and shareholders has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Gibson. “Joining JLL marks an exciting new chapter in our history. It provides our team a tremendous opportunity to join a full-service real estate firm with a global presence and a client-centric, collaborative culture that closely aligns with our own. We look forward to working together to grow JLL’s Capital Markets business and bring expanded services to our clients.”
Transaction Details
This acquisition was first announced and unanimously approved by each company’s Board of Directors in March 2019 and received approval from HFF’s shareholders earlier today.
HFF is now wholly owned by JLL and certain of its subsidiaries and will do business as JLL. HFF’s common stock, which previously traded under the ticker symbol “HF,” has ceased trading and was delisted from the NYSE effective today.
The purchase price for the acquisition was approximately $1.8 billion, consisting of a combination of cash and JLL stock. JLL funded the cash portion of the purchase price consideration with a combination of cash reserves and its existing syndicated credit facility. The combination is expected to deliver significant run-rate synergies, estimated at approximately $60 million over two to three years.
