JLL to complete acquisition of HFF next week

Chicago-based JLL and HFF, Inc. announced today that the parties have received the requisite regulatory approvals and that JLL’s acquisition of HFF is expected to close on Monday, July 1, 2019. The deal will occur after the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange, pending approval by HFF stockholders at the HFF annual stockholders meeting and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.

As announced in March, JLL is acquiring all the outstanding shares of HFF in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $2 billion. 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. JP Morgan is serving as exclusive financial advisor for JLL, and Sidley Austin LLP as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor for HFF, and Dechert LLP as legal counsel.

“The combination with HFF provides a unique opportunity to accelerate growth and establish JLL as a leading capital markets intermediary, with outstanding capabilities,” Christian Ulbrich, global CEO of JLL, said in March when the deal was first announced. “We have long admired HFF for its expertise and leading reputation in the industry, as well as its client-first culture of teamwork, ethics and excellence, which aligns with our own. I believe that combining our organizations will deliver a range of compelling benefits for our clients, employees and shareholders.”

The acquisition is a bid to bolster JLL’s capital markets business as HFF is one of the largest and most successful commercial real estate capital markets intermediaries, closing more than $800 billion in over 27,000 transactions in the U.S. since 1998. JLL also recently improved its industrial practice with the acquisition of NelsonHill.