As GlobeSt.comreported in mid-December—ahead of C&W's own press conference onthe pending deal--the New York City-based services firm wasplanning to shed its longtime Japanese majoritystakeholder—Mitsubishi Estate Co. Mitsubishi is actually a majoritystakeholder in the New York City-based Rockefeller Group, which inturn was the majority stakeholder in C&W. Although thebrokerage is no longer part of Rockefeller, it still possesses fourother operating companies: a development firm, a technologycompany, Rockefeller Group Business Centers and CommonwealthPartners.

At the time the news broke, talk around the market focused onthe ability of C&W to grow once the Italians threw theircapital behind the firm. At the December press conference, C&Wpresident and CEO Bruce E. Mosler all but confirmed those rumors:"With the help and support of RGI we have forged an agreement witha partner who is in complete alliance with Cushman &Wakefield's global business strategy and goals. We will beparticularly focused on expansion in Europe and Asia," to achieve50% of revenue from outside the US.

Representatives of Ifil underscored that growth plan. "Financialservices in general and real estate related businesses specificallyhave been high on a list of preferred investments," said JohnElkann, vice chairman of Ifil. "We also like investing inentrepreneurial management. We like strong brands supported by aclear strategic vision. Cushman & Wakefield ticks all theboxes," Elkann went on to say the purchase of C&W also fulfillsthe company's goal of diversification, "This being a greaterdiversification of our assets by sector, by geography and bycurrency."