CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) today announced the acquisition of its affiliate company in Denmark, CB Richard Ellis Cederholm A/S (“Cederholm”), one of that country’s largest commercial real estate services companies. The purchase price is approximately $43 million. The acquisition significantly strengthens CB Richard Ellis’ platform in Scandinavia by giving the Company a wholly-owned position in one of the region’s most active property markets.
Cederholm has been CB Richard Ellis’ affiliate in Denmark since 1999, and this transaction reflects the Company’s strategy of acquiring affiliate companies in global markets with high growth potential. Founded in 1998 by Henrik Cederholm, the business employs approximately 60 people, has three offices located in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Kolding and delivers a full service offering to clients.
CB Richard Ellis foresees strong growth in the Danish property market. One notable trend is the erosion of the traditional preference for owner-occupancy among local companies, which has made sale-leaseback transactions an attractive option. The popularity of sale-leasebacks, alongside strong economic growth, are expected to continue to draw a growing number of international investors to both Denmark and the wider Scandinavian region.
Mike Strong, President of CB Richard Ellis, EMEA, said: "Denmark and the entire Nordic region is of strategic interest to our clients. Cederholm is a well established business with an excellent reputation and strong market position in Denmark. This transaction is a key building-block in the development and expansion of our operations across Scandinavia.”
Henrik Cederholm, Managing Director at Cederholm, added: “Full integration with the world’s largest commercial real estate services provider makes perfect sense for the future expansion of our business. CB Richard Ellis’ global platform and strength in the marketplace will now give us an enhanced opportunity to grow our position both in Denmark and internationally. Both companies’ clients will benefit enormously from our combined expertise at a time of increased interest and activity in Denmark’s commercial real estate market.”
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), an S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2007 revenue). With over 29,000 employees, the Company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide (excluding affiliate offices). CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. In 2007, CB Richard Ellis was named one of the 50 “best in class” companies by BusinessWeek, and one of the 100 fastest growing companies by Fortune. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Certain of the statements in this release regarding the acquisition of Cederholm that do not concern purely historical data are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the parties to successfully integrate the operations of Cederholm into CB Richard Ellis’ EMEA platform, the ability to leverage growth opportunities in Denmark and the Scandinavian Region, and the continuance of a trend of declining owner-occupancy, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in CB Richard Ellis’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws, CB Richard Ellis expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of them to reflect actual results, any changes in expectations or any change in events. If CB Richard Ellis does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. For additional information concerning factors that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, and risks to CB Richard Ellis’ business in general, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007. Such filings are available publicly and may be obtained off the Company's website at www.cbre.com or upon request from the CB Richard Ellis Investor Relations Department at investorrelations@cbre.com.