Cushman & Wakefield Completes Acquisition of its Financing Subsidiary, Expands NY Investment Team

28 Oct, 2010, New York

Cushman & Wakefield, the world's largest privately held commercial real estate services firm, today announced it has acquired the remaining 35 percent interest of its debt and equity finance subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman. As part of the move, it has restructured and expanded its New York Capital Markets Group under the leadership of Steven Kohn, who will continue in his role as President of Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman.

The acquisition and expansion in New York follows three years after Cushman & Wakefield's initial acquisition of a 65 percent stake in Sonnenblick Goldman, a leading independent real estate investment banking firm with roots in New York real estate dating back to 1893. Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman is a premier real estate investment banking and financial services firm, specializing in providing integrated capital solutions for all asset classes. The firm is also a recognized industry leader in the financing and sale of hospitality and leisure properties. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In addition to his responsibilities overseeing Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, which is active in the U.S. and globally, Mr. Kohn will assume leadership of an expanded New York Capital Markets Group that will offer the full complement of real estate capital markets services in New York City ranging from traditional sales and financing for all property types, to recapitalizations, joint ventures and note sales. Mr. Kohn is a seasoned real estate finance and investment professional in New York and globally. In recent years some of his most notable New York City assignments have included the equity recapitalization of 31 W. 52nd St., the senior debt financing for W.P. Carey's investment in The New York Times Company's headquarters, and more recently the sale of the junior mezzanine loan on 510 Madison Ave.

"This is a time of significant and rapid change for the global real estate capital markets and with Steve's direction and our existing and new talent, we're aiming to leverage a broad service platform, deep market knowledge and a highly coordinated approach to differentiate our service offering," said Glenn Rufrano, Cushman & Wakefield's President and Chief Executive Officer. "It's more important than ever to offer investors a full range of capital services in equity and debt, and we believe our model going forward will best deliver on that promise."

In addition to Mr. Kohn, the New York Capital Markets Group will include the Investment Sales team of Helen Hwang, Nathaniel Rockett and Karen Wiedenmann.

Mr. Rockett, who has been named an Executive Vice President, has more than 17 years of experience in New York area commercial property sales. He recently joined Cushman & Wakefield from Jones Lang LaSalle, where he was a Managing Director and Head of New York Investment Sales. Since joining JLL in 2004, he has completed approximately $1.75 billion in property sales. Over the past 12 months, he has been involved in approximately $685 million in transactions closed or in progress, including the high-profile $142 million sale of the Takashimaya Building on Fifth Avenue and the $330 million sale of 452 Fifth Ave. Prior to JLL, he worked for Insignia/ESG, CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield, Massey Knakal and Friedland Realty. In 1997, while with Massey Knakal, he earned the Real Estate Board of New York's Most Promising Commercial Salesperson Award.

Ms. Hwang, Executive Vice President, and Ms. Wiedenmann, Executive Director, have been involved in many of the largest commercial property sales in Manhattan history and have unique experience in the marketing and sale of institutional quality assets. Together, they have strong and influential relationships with an extensive list of institutional and private investors. Some of the most significant assignments they have been involved with in recent years include the sales of The MetLife Building, 666 Fifth Ave., Park Avenue Tower, 750 Third Ave. and 485 Lexington Ave., and more recently 417 Fifth Ave.

Ms. Hwang has more than a decade of real estate industry experience and has been involved in more than 40 institutional transactions valued at more than $12 billion. She serves as an industry expert guest speaker for some of the top REIT equity research teams in the nation, including Banc of America Merrill Lynch, ISI Group and UBS, as well as New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate. Ms. Wiedenmann has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, including 14 years specializing in the marketing and sale of Manhattan properties. She has been involved in representing institutional owners and international marketing programs for more than $18 billion of commercial real estate. Prior, she managed the New York City real estate assets for CB Hampshire, a New Jersey-based property management partnership between CBRE and Hampshire Management.

Outside of New York, Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman will continue to be led by regional heads, including Robert Stiles on the West Coast, Richard Swartz in New England and Douglas Hercher focused on the Southeast United States - all reporting to Mr. Kohn. Mark Gordon will continue to lead Cushman & Wakefield's Lodging Group in the United States.

The announcements follow major strategic initiatives within Cushman & Wakefield's Global Capital Markets Group, including the appointment of Greg Vorwaller as Global Head of Capital Markets and John Stinson as Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets throughout the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Vorwaller, who joins Nov. 1 from CB Richard Ellis, will be based in Chicago. Mr. Stinson, who was formerly the Asia Pacific Regional Director for Investments and Capital Markets with DTZ, is based in Singapore.

Cushman & Wakefield is one of the world's leading providers of real estate Capital Markets expertise. In 2009, the firm completed more than $31 billion in property sales and financings globally.

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