Local NAI office head calls sale to C-III a ‘win-win’

Seven months after the deal was announced, C-III Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of NAI Global, the world’s largest network of independent commercial real estate firms, comprising roughly 5,000 brokers working in 325 offices in 55 countries. Karl Landreneau, NAI/Latter & Blum director of commercial sales and leasing in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, says the deal should bring added resources and business to the local office. “On a local, national and global level, this is huge for us. It takes us to a whole other level,” Landreneau says. “It puts a whole lot of cash into the NAI system, so for an independent NAI member like us, it’s really a win-win, because they’ll be able to give us more services to use as brokers and they’ll also send a lot of business our way.” NAI/Latter & Blum is the largest Louisiana representative of the global firm. NAI Global will continue to operate as a separate company under its current management, with no rebranding expected. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. C-III is led by investor Andrew Farkas, who built New York-based Insignia Financial Group into one of the largest commercial real estate service firms in the country before CB Richard Ellis bought it for about $415 million in 2003. “The completion of this transaction represents a significant step forward in our strategy to build a fully diversified commercial real estate services company,” Farkas says in a prepared statement. “With the NAI Global acquisition, we are gaining the world’s leading commercial real estate network and a tremendous foundation for future growth.” —Steve Sanoski