Global advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield is moving ahead with long-rumoured plans to float on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to Bloomberg News, the brokerage giant is interviewing advisers for an initial public offering, which could see the firm become one of the largest listed property agencies in the world.
The move comes three years after the agency's $2 bn (€1.6 bn) acquisition by DTZ from Italy's Exor group, which was bankrolled by Texas-based private equity player TPG.
The New York-base broker, which celebrated its 100th birthday in October, could be valued at around $7 bn in an IPO, according to one US-based real estate analyst. CBRE is currently valued at just over $16 bn, while JLL is valued at just under $7.9 bn.
Since Cushman & Wakefield first started talking to banks last year, its public peers have registered significant growth, with CBRE Group's share price rising 57%, and JLL's value climbing 76% in the same period.
Cushman & Wakefield has been taken over several times since its incorporation in 1917. Previous owners include media empire RCA Corp and the Rockefeller Group.
