BGC Buying Cornish & Carey Commercial

BGC Partners, Inc. announced this week that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Cornish & Carey Commercial, one of the last regional independent real estate firms and a major player in Northern California commercial real estate. Cornish has been an affiliate of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF), the real estate firm under BGC Partners acquired in 2011, since 2010, and will now join the company operating in Northern California as Newmark Cornish & Carey. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Cornish's leadership — including all of its partners — will remain on board for the foreseeable future, according to a Sacramento Business Journal article.

"Our partnership with Cornish & Carey has been tremendously successful. We now have an even greater ability to provide clients in the important Northern California marketplace the complete array of NGKF's services including site selection, leasing advisory, facilities management, property management, project management, investment sales, global corporate services, and valuation among others," said NGKF CEO Barry Gosin in a statement. "A primary driver of NGKF's growth is acquiring spectacular talent in key markets. Cornish & Carey's commitment to serving clients, and its culture and performance, align perfectly with NGKF's client-centric service and growth model."

Formed in 1935 in Palo Alto, CA, Cornish & Carey employs more than 275 brokers and generated $135 million in revenue in 2012, according to a CoStar report. The two firms have operated under a business referral agreement since 2010. Cornish & Carey has offices in Emeryville, Hayward, Marin, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Roseville, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa and Walnut Creek.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

BGC Finalizes Grubb & Ellis Purchase, Forms Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

BGC Partners, Inc. announced on Friday that it had closed the acquisition of Grubb & Ellis assets after receiving approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. At the same time, BGC is rapidly integrating Newmark Knight Frank, which it acquired in October 2011, with Grubb & Ellis, forming Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, its new full-service commercial real estate platform.

Michael Lehrman, Global Head of Real Estate at BGC, said, "With more than 100 offices in North America, 250 million square feet in Property and Facilities Management, and an outstanding national Appraisal business, the creation of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is a game-changing moment in the real estate industry. Newmark Knight Frank and Grubb & Ellis each have consistently ranked among the leading companies in the real estate industry, and now these two great brands have come together as an even more impressive competitive presence in the real estate marketplace."

Barry Gosin, CEO of the combined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, added, "Our value proposition embraces a portfolio of management services, capital markets, corporate services, investment sales, leasing, tenant and landlord representation, property and facilities management, industrial engineering, appraisal and valuation services. In short, it's a fresh and comprehensive way of identifying creative, fully integrated solutions to meet clients' complex real estate objectives by applying BGC's capital, management, and technology as we enlarge the scale of our real estate services platform and expand into new markets."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Grubb & Ellis Cancels Asset Auction

Grubb & Ellis canceled the auction for its assets this week with an announcement that none of the bids topped BGC Partners' offer, which would forgive the $30 million already owed to BGC in exchange for the assets, while also providing bankruptcy financing. Grubb & Ellis claimed $150 million in assets and $167 million in liabilities in its Feb. 20 bankruptcy filing. According to a Wall Street Journal article, a hearing to approve the sale to BGC Partners is scheduled for Thursday.

Grubb & Ellis had said that the offer from BGC Partners is the "sole reason why a going-concern sales process is possible," and came after nearly a year of soliciting 50 companies and one failed exclusivity agreement.

"Simply put, absent BGC's efforts and capital, the debtors would likely have already been forced to liquidate, resulting in the loss of over 3,000 jobs and placing its valued management clients' properties in jeopardy," Grubb & Ellis said in court papers.

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BGC Partners Picks Up Grubb & Ellis Assets

Grubb & Ellis Co. announced this week that it had filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to sell the majority of its assets to BGC Partners. The proposed sale to BGC Partners Inc. will require court approval as part of Grubb & Ellis’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy process reported The Washington Post. The filing listed $150 million in assets and $167 million in debt as of the end of last year. BGC will provide financing of up to $4.8 million to keep Grubb & Ellis operating while the acquisition closes, according to the filing.

Howard W. Lutnick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BGC, said that "this transaction reflects the deep and unwavering commitment of BGC -- the fastest growing, and one of the world's largest, global brokerage companies serving the financial markets -- to build a premier position in real estate services. We agreed to acquire Grubb & Ellis because we believe Newmark Knight Frank's and Grubb & Ellis' broad knowledge and extensive brokerage expertise, combined with BGC's powerful proprietary technology and our strong financial backing, will enable Grubb & Ellis to thrive and grow as part of the BGC family of companies."

Thomas P. D'Arcy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grubb & Ellis, added, "We believe this transaction enhances our value proposition to our clients and strengthens our position in the commercial real estate marketplace. BGC's strong capital base, robust technology and deep commitment to its brokers provides Grubb & Ellis with scale along with the resources needed by our professionals to deliver exceptional service to our clients. We are confident this will be a seamless transition for our clients and that becoming part of BGC is an extremely attractive opportunity for our brokerage professionals and employees."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.