NEW YORK CITY—BGC Partners is acquiringmultifamily broker network Apartment RealtyAdvisors for $110 million in cash.Additional cash and equity based earn-outs may be paid to thecompanies within the ARA network if certain performance targets aremet. In general, the ARA companies are expected to generate annualrevenues of $100 million or more and pre-tax distributable earningsin excess of $20 million. A majority of the closings for thesecompanies are expected to close during the fourth quarter of2014.

ARA's acquisition is another sign that the commercial realestate brokerage community views consolidation as a key growthstrategy. In this case, bringing ARA under BGC's corporate umbrellawill give Newmark Grubb Knight Frank a sizeableleg up in the market. BGC acquired NGKF in 2011.

"Acquiring ARA and its members represents an attractiveopportunity for NGKF and will substantially add to the revenues andearnings of our real estate capital markets business," saidHoward W. Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of BGCPartners, in a prepared statement. The acquisition, he continued,will also add value to BGC's overall business, which services thefinancial and real estate markets with a range of productsincluding fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, commercialreal estate, commodities, futures, and structured products.