CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBG) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Heery International, Inc. (Heery), the project management and design engineering business of the international infrastructure group, Balfour Beatty LLC.
Heery, based in Atlanta, is a leader in providing project management, design and commissioning services across the U.S., with a wide range of corporate, government, healthcare, sports, aviation and education clients.
“This acquisition advances our strategy to grow our project management expertise and capabilities. Heery has a strong track record of client service with many longstanding relationships spanning decades,“ said Mike Lafitte, CBRE’s Global Group President, Lines of Business. “Their deep project management expertise and strong leadership team are a great complement to CBRE’s existing capabilities in both our local market and account-based project management services.”
“We are particularly excited about Heery’s ability to deepen our relationships in the public and educational sectors, grow our position in such new vertical segments as aviation and sports, and add capabilities and expertise in design engineering services,” he added.
Upon closing of the acquisition, Heery will continue to be led by its President Theodore Sak and its COO Glenn Jardine. Heery’s professionals will collaborate closely with CBRE’s project management teams who deliver services in local markets across the U.S. as well as its professionals who execute account-based project management programs through its corporate outsourcing business line, Global Workplace Solutions.
“We believe our expertise is a great fit with CBRE’s focus on delivering comprehensive, fully integrated commercial real estate solutions,” said Mr. Jardine. “We look forward to working with our new CBRE colleagues across the country to provide these solutions to a broader range of corporate and institutional clients than ever before and achieving further growth in our core markets.”
Founded in 1952, Heery has approximately 535 employees in 19 U.S. offices, providing services including project management, architecture, engineering, interior design, and commissioning.
CBRE maintains the largest network of professional commercial real estate project managers worldwide. Its more than 5,000 specialists, including 350+ LEED-certified professionals, oversaw projects with a total contract value of more than $42 billion worldwide in 2016.
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. The business that CBRE is acquiring generally does not include, or CBRE is indemnified for, the at-risk construction management business within Heery International.
The purchase price is approximately $57 million. This reflects a multiple of approximately 6 times projected 2017 adjusted EBITDA attributed to the acquired Heery business, after giving effect for anticipated run-rate cost synergies as well as the net present value of expected tax benefits.