Two drivers of the deal for CBRE is Turner & Townsend's presence in the infrastructure market and its sustainability creds.

"We see sizable secular growth opportunities in project management, which are being propelled by rising public and private infrastructure investment and the drive to a low-carbon global economy," CBRE president and CEO Bob Sulentic said in prepared remarks.

For CBRE, the transaction is reminiscent of the stake it acquired in Industrious earlier this year, positioning it to participate in the flexible space market. In the company's first quarter earnings call, CEO Bob Sulentic said CBRE had a substantial M&A pipeline "and pipeline of alternatives or investment opportunities that we would characterize more as sponsorship type opportunities where we could invest in a company and then help that company be more successful and then it would be on its own."

"We've done a lot of strategy work to determine the areas of our business that we want to make investments in because we think they will benefit in a secular way. So you should expect to see us make some very nice investments over the coming months that would be secularly favored and CBRE would be able to help those investments perform well."

Besides CBRE's balance sheet, Turner & Townsend expects to benefit from the company's presence in the Americas.

Upon closing the transaction, Clancy and the existing Turner & Townsend management team will continue to run the company on a day-to-day basis, and all its services will continue to be delivered under the Turner & Townsend brand. Turner & Townsend's financial results will be consolidated and reported within CBRE's Global Workplace Solutions business segment.

Turner & Townsend will be governed by a new Board of Directors, consisting of three CBRE executives including Sulentic, Jack Durburg, Global CEO, GWS, and Chandra Dhandapani, Chief Transformation Officer and COO, GWS, and three Turner & Townsend executives that include Clancy, Jeremy Lathom-Sharp, finance director, and James Dand, Chief Operating Officer.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Dentons are acting as legal advisors to CBRE. Rothschild & Co is acting as financial advisor and Pinsent Masons LLP as legal advisor to Turner & Townsend.