HOUSTON—Locally based Transwestern and the commercial realestate unit of European financial services giantBNP Paribas have shaken hands on a joint venturethat will extend the global reach of both.

For Transwestern, the deal will bring its reach to a grand totalof 181 cities in 30 European, Middle Eastern, African and Indiancountries. Paris-based BNPRE, for its part, will benefit fromTranswestern’s US presence to service BNPRE clients "who have realestate needs in the US,” explains Transwestern president and CEOLarry Heard.

“We selected BNP Real Estate as our partner because they’re agreat cultural and strategic fit with Transwestern,” says Heard.“In addition to benefiting our clients, the alliance opens upcountless opportunities.” He explains that the focus on both sidesof the Atlantic—for Transwestern and BNPRE—will be on tenantadvisory services, including tenant representation and corporatereal estate services.