Steve Everbach

Cushman & Wakefield is boosting its leasing and property and project management operations in Dallas and Atlanta with the acquisition of the third-party client services operations of Cousins Properties Inc. The deal is expected to formally close by year-end.

Under the terms of the agreement, as many as 128 professionals will transition from Cousins to C&W—75 locally, including Mark Dickinson and other members of Cousins’ Dallas leasing team.

The move will nearly double C&W’s local property management portfolio by adding more than 6 million square feet of space, including the iconic Williams Square in Las Colinas and Lincoln Centre in North Dallas.

C&W diligently pursued the acquisition, said Steve Everbach, who was named head of the firm’s North Texas operations this past April. “We have been very focused on strengthening our agency leasing and property management in Dallas-Forth Worth,” he said. “We are gaining a best-in-class presence in Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta.”

The deal came about after a “very thorough selection process,” according to Everbach. Key factors were complementary, team-oriented cultures and commitment to client service.

CSG’s Property Management, Landlord Leasing and Management services will be integrated into Cushman & Wakefield’s Investor Services division, which is part of the firm’s Corporate Occupier and Investor Services (CIS) group—a focus of C&W’s current growth plan. Cousins Properties will continue to own and operate its fee business that’s not associated with the third-party operations.

“Our newly enhanced Investor Services group’s alignment with our Capital Markets/Equity Debt and Structured Finance is significantly strengthened, ensuring local, regional and national clients have access to the full spectrum of these services in each of their core markets,” Everbach said.

Here are statements from other company executives, taken from a press release:

Glenn Rufrano, President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield: “This move marks a key milestone as we begin the next phase of our strategic growth plan. Integrating such a quality group into our platform enables C&W to continue to balance our service mix across our global platform and provide consistent quality service to our clients.”

Larry Gellerstedt, President and CEO of Cousins Properties: “We are very excited about this transaction. We really consider it a partnership, and view this as a win-win for Cousins, C&W, and most important, our clients. This not only ensures that our clients will be part of a broad global platform and can leverage all of the benefits that come with it, but is also consistent with Cousins’ strategic goal of simplification and a heightened focus on our core business.”