Cassidy Turley Acquires CLW Real Estate

WASHINGTON, DC-In the last week of 2012 Cassidy Turley closed on a significant acquisition, its merger with CLW Real Estate Services Group in Tampa, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively. Cassidy Turley and CLW were set to make the announcement internally Wednesday morning.

The combined firm will represent a major advance for Cassidy Turley in several markets, starting with, of course, CLW's home base of Tampa and the state of Florida, Cassidy Turley CEO Joe Stettinius tells GlobeSt.com. However, some 50% of CLW's activity is outside of Florida, giving Cassidy Turley valuable exposure to such markets as Boston, New York and Southern California. CLW counts about 18 or so national corporate accounts as well as another dozen of property management accounts in Florida. In addition, "the merger gives both firms the ability to provide better and broader service to clients and as well as providing us with the ability to provide better career opportunities," Stettinius says.

Terms of the deal are not public. CLW is now wholly owned by Cassidy Turley, and its shareholders are now shareholders in Cassidy Turley. CLW Principals Doug Rothschild and Lou Varsames will be executive managing directors, located in Cassidy Turley's newly expanded Tampa office, which will incorporate CLW's 20 brokerage professionals and approximately 100 total employees.

From CLW's perspective, Cassidy Turley's current trajectory made the deal a no brainer, Rothschild tells GlobeSt.com. "Cassidy Turley is in growth mode and we feel we can have an impact on that growth."

Also, Varsames notes, CLW's strong senior housing group is complementary to Cassidy Turley's own capital markets operation. Cassidy Turley has some senior housing capabilities on the West Coast and has been involved in certain transactions "episodically" in other markets, Stettinius says.

"This acquisition will provide us with leadership in the senior housing space," he says. CLW also has a strong property management portfolio—a space where Cassidy Turley is already very strong. Indeed, about half of its recurring revenues can be attributed to property and building management. In this case, Stettinius says, Cassidy Turley is not necessarily looking to just boost its recurring revenues but rather gain entrance to new markets. "For property management, the deal is more a growth story than it is about straight revenue," he says.