Larry Heard saysinstitutional owners and investors have a multitude of CREalternatives.

HOUSTON—Major commercial real estate playershave made a mark by raising capital within the public market. Withthe latest announcement of Cushman & Wakefield filing anIPO to the tune of $1 billion and seeking an estimated valuation inexcess of $5 billion, industry professionals may be left wonderingwhy some firms elect to remain private amid the publiccontenders.Transwesternremains steadfast in its decision to stay private in contrast tothe private-to-public transition of many of its CRE counterparts.It is comprised of companies focused on commercial propertydevelopment, professional services and investment management. Inthis exclusive, Larry P. Heard, CEO of theTranswestern family of companies, recently discussed themergers and acquisitions climate, competitive advantages ofremaining private, and future plans.GlobeSt.com:With so much M&A activity in the commercial real estatesector lately, do you think the playing field is getting toonarrow?Heard: Our industry is one of themore highly fragmented in the country, by both geography andservice line. While there has been significant consolidation overthe past decade, institutional owners and investors still have amultitude of commercial real estate alternatives to choose from,and that should not change.GlobeSt.com:What are the competitive advantages of remaining privatelyowned?Heard: Our national services,development and investment management businesses are each privatelyheld partnerships that a) respond quickly and precisely to changingmarket conditions, b) focus disproportionally time-wise on theneeds of our clients and c) are committed to a corporate culturethat is truly enjoyable for our team members. In our industry, wefind a number of people thrive in a private partnership model wheretheir voices are heard and their entrepreneurial needs arefulfilled.GlobeSt.com: How does private ownership benefityour employees?Heard: Our people are ourpriority. It has been that way since our inception as a firm 40years ago. We understand our team is what makes Transwestern theright place to be. As such, we recognize the importance ofproviding a dynamic work environment and empowering our teammembers with the resources and collegial setting to succeed. Inaddition, our ownership structure presents our team members withmore opportunities to invest in specific initiatives and share inthe company's success, and that's something our people appreciate.They believe in our business model and our sharedpurpose–empowering good people to do extraordinary thingstogether.GlobeSt.com: Does Transwestern ever plan to gopublic? Heard: Transwestern has no plansto go public now or in the future. Frankly, we value the benefitsof being a privately held firm with many partners having flourishedunder our ownership structure. All three of our firms (services,development and investment management) benefit from and enjoy thepartnership model.