Tom Senkbeil, president and chief operating officer at Carter in Atlanta, and Robert J. DeGrilla, senior vice president and managing director of Welsh's Orlando operations, couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to confirm or deny the estimated deal's value.

A prepared statement from Carter, however, states the deal was done to give the Atlanta firm increased regional market share. "It was crucial that we find a company whose synergies closely matched our own ideology," Senkbeil says in the statement.

Welsh contributes sales and leasing volume of $150 million to the deal, along with a $400 million listing sales inventory in Central Florida and a two million-sf property management portfolio.

The Carter statement says the merger makes Carter the fourth largest property management firm in Orlando. Trammell Crow Co., Highwoods Properties Inc. and CB Richard Ellis Inc. dominate the management field.

In his recent market update analysis, Welsh's DeGrilla states, "In Central Florida, we are best known for our leadership in the management, leasing and sales of office and industrial properties."

In a move that surprised some local industry watchers, Gregory Morrison, senior vice president at Welsh, was selected over Tom D. Cook, his counterpart in Carter's Orlando office, and DeGrilla who runs the local Welsh office.

Cook's expertise is in closing Downtown sales deals. Morrison is a leasing specialist who honed his skills at Pizzuti Co. before joining Welsh in 1997 when the Minnesota firm bought out Columbus, OH-based Pizzuti. DeGrilla is a seasoned professional who formerly toiled for the Orlando office of Charlotte-based Faison Co.

William A. "Billy" Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Carter & Associates, tells GlobeSt.com Morrison "was the perfect fit for the player/coach role to head up the Orlando operation."

Mitchell says Morrison is an Orlando native "with a long history of being a top producer in the Central Florida market."

Additionally, "given the combined organization's new full-service focus on brokerage, development, property management and leasing, Greg's experience and relationships with some of our key existing property management accounts was critical for a smooth transition."

Another surprise was the selection of Heidi Carter, director of operations at Welsh, as vice president of brokerage operations. Carter is a former marketing and business development director at Pizzuti Co.

Thought to be in the running for the brokerage operations post were Welsh's Tom McFadden, William Parke and Tom Morse.

Mitchell tells GlobeSt.com Heidi Carter's promotion gives her new responsibilities "for the pure administrative, technology and marketing/research functions of a sizable operation."

He says, "These responsibilities are a fulltime job (and) her role allows the revenue producers to do what they do best--generate revenue."

A tipoff to the May 15 announced merger came in February when Susan Lawrence, a 25-year California-trained professional who formerly directed Welsh's Orlando activities and more recently was on its investment team, left the firm to become business development chief at the Orlando office of Xentury City Development Co.

California-based Xentury is developing a multimillion-dollar mixed-use venture near Walt Disney World's 30,000-acre operations in Lake Buena Vista, FL.