Shares in Cushman & Wakefield plc rose 7% in early trading on Thursday following the company's flotation on the New York stock exchange and ended the day with an increase of almost 5%.
The company raised $765 mln (€657 mln) following the flotation of 45 million of its ordinary shares at a price of $17 per share, midway between its targeted price range of $16-$18. The company said it would use the net proceeds to reduce outstanding debts related to its acquisition of Cassidy Turley and for general corporate purposes.
Following the iPO, Cushman’s owners – TPG Capital, PAG Asia Capital and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – hold around 66% of the company, according to SEC documents.
Earlier this week it emerged that one of China’s leading real estate companies China Vanke bought a 4.9% stake in advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield in the run-up to its IPO. The company paid $175 mln for the 10.2 million shares through a private placement.
Strategic partner
A spokesperson for C&W described Vanke as 'a strategic partner': 'We look forward to working together to further our leading positions across Greater China.'
DTZ acquired Cushman & Wakefield in 2015 from the Italian Agnelli family for $2 bn in a reverse takeover bankrolled by private equity firm TPG, to create the third-biggest global property brokerage behind CBRE and JLL. Cushman & Wakefield has changed hands several times since its incorporation in 1917. Previous owners include media empire RCA Corp and the Rockefeller Group.
Cushman currently has about 400 offices in 70 countries, according to its IPO registration statement. Its revenue reached $6.92 bn in 2017, up from $6.2 bn in 2016. CBRE made $14.2 bn last year, while JLL's revenue was $7.9 bn.
Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co. and UBS Investment Bank acted as joint book-running managers for the IPO.
