Cushman & Wakefield will join forces with Chicago-based real estate firm DTZ to create a global real estate services giant.

Italian investment company Exor has agreed to sell New York-based real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to DTZ for $2 billion.

Exor said the sale of its 75 per cent stake will generate net proceeds of $1.28 billion and a capital gain of around $722 million.

The combined company, which will take the Cushman & Wakefield name, will have revenues over $5.5 billion, Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement. With a headcount of over 43,000 employees, it will manage over 4 billion square feet globally for institutional, corporate and private clients.

“DTZ is elated to be merging under the prominent Cushman & Wakefield brand. The companies have remarkably complementary skills and reach in different geographies – whether in New York, London or Shanghai, this will be a formidable combination,” said Brett White, who will become chairman and chief executive of the new company. 

“While breadth and depth are important to serve clients, it’s not just about size. It’s also about local expertise and deep customer service, which are strong traits of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ, and ultimately what will differentiate us going forward.”

Under the merger deal, the current international CEO and EMEA CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, will take on a senior global leadership role; the current CEO of North America at Cushman & Wakefield, John Santora, will become chief operating officer and chief integration officer; and the current global CEO of DTZ, Tod Lickerman, will become president of the global company.

DTZ's owners, TPG Capital, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, will invest in the future growth of the new Cushman & Wakefield.

“The potential created by this combination would not have been possible without Exor's support and positioning of Cushman and Wakefield over the last eight years,” said TPG founding partner David Bonderman.

“Exor has achieved great success in growing a business that is performing extremely well, and once combined with DTZ, will be even better positioned to further capitalise on the real estate growth trends across the globe.”

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.