Savills Makes a Billion Dollar Move Into Real Estate Investment Banking

Savills has agreed to acquire Eastdil Secured in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion including debt, one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the London-based brokerage. The transaction is designed to significantly expand Savills’ presence in the United States and strengthen its capital markets advisory business at a time when many in the industry expect deal activity to rebound.

Background

The two firms come into the deal from very different backgrounds, with Savills being a London-based brokerage and Eastdil Secured being a US-based firm.