JLL's $2 Billion Acquisition of HFF Said to Accelerate Growth

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated and HFF, Inc. announced on March 19, 2019 that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which JLL will acquire all the outstanding shares of HFF in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $2 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

HFF is one of the largest commercial real estate capital markets intermediaries in the U.S., marked by decades-long relationships with clients and best-in-class capital markets advisors.

Since 1998, HFF has closed more than $800 billion in over 27,000 transactions, achieving record revenue in 2018 of more than $650 million. Additionally, HFF has brokered or financed nearly $4.3 billion in self storage transactions in more than 375 transactions.

JLL is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of over 90,000 as of December 31, 2018.

Mark Gibson, CEO of HFF, will join JLL as CEO, Capital Markets, Americas and Co-Chair of its Global Capital Markets Board.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, HFF shareholders will receive $24.63 in cash and 0.1505 JLL shares for each HFF share. Based on the closing price of JLL stock of $163.02 on March 18, 2019, the cash and stock consideration to be received by HFF shareholders at closing is valued at $49.16 per HFF share.

Upon closing of the transaction, JLL shareholders are expected to own approximately 87 percent of the combined company, and HFF shareholders are expected to own approximately 13 percent.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019, subject to HFF shareholder approval and customary closing conditions, including regulatory review.

Through this combination, JLL will significantly bolster its full-service Capital Markets services to clients. The transaction will allow JLL to rapidly scale its U.S. Capital Markets presence, accelerate growth of its debt advisory business in Europe and Asia Pacific and drive increased operating efficiency globally.

Through its subsidiaries, HFF operates out of 26 offices and is one of the leading and largest full-service commercial real estate financial intermediaries, providing commercial real estate and capital markets services to both the consumers and providers of capital in the commercial real estate sector. HFF offers clients a fully-integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and commercial loan servicing.