Time to Merge
Summer hadn't even officially started, but the first week of June was plenty hot for merger activity involving IAMC member companies.
Johnson Controls got things started on May 31 with the announcement of its $80-million purchase of IAMC member firm United Systems Integrators, which expects to maintain its 260 employees at its current headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
"Increasingly, customers are asking for a single-source supplier for all of their real estate and facility management requirements," said John P. Kennedy, president of the
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| THE ACQUIRERS: Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls (left) and Denver-based ProLogis (above) started their summer with the watershed acquisitions of USI and Catellus, respectively, adding considerable heft to their respective global facility and service offerings. |
"The synergies between our two firms will allow us to offer single-source, global end-to-end solutions for real estate and facilities management to meet our clients evolving needs," said Ed McLaughlin, USI chairman and CEO.
Global end-to-end could almost describe the ballooning holdings of IAMC member company ProLogis, which is getting bigger with its $4.9-billio purchase of San Francisco-based Catellus Development Corp. According to the June 6 announcement, "The combined company will offer the world's largest network of distribution facilities and services, with over 350 million square feet [32.5 million sq. m.] in over 2,250 facilities owned, managed and under development in 75 markets in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as unparalleled land positions, supporting more than 100 million buildable square feet [nearly 9.3 million sq. m.] of potential development across its global markets."
ProLogis CEO Jeffrey H. Schwartz noted that 30 percent of that buildable land in the nation's top six distribution markets is coming into the ProLogis land bank courtesy of Catellus.
Catellus executive Ted Antenucci will be named president of global development for ProLogis. He mentioned that the merger would continue Catellus redevelopment projects like the Robert Mueller Airport in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles Air Force Base, and he anticipated that the new entity's financial strength would allow it to expand that type of activity, "including military base closure redevelopments."
