Savills chases industry titans with $1.1B Eastdil acquisition

Savills this week announced that it is acquiring Eastdil Secured — a move that boosts the U.K.-based commercial brokerage’s presence in North America.

The deal, which includes a $921 million purchase price and the assumption of about $179 million in debt, marks a pivot for Savills as it works to close the massive gap between itself and industry titans like CBRE Group, which held a more than 13 percent market share on investment sale activity last year.

Currently in the U.S., Savills is near the bottom of the pack in terms of size. Its market capitalization is about $1.2 billion and the firm raked in about $2.6 billion worth of revenue last year, which pales in comparison to CBRE’s market cap of $40.1 billion and $40.6 billion worth of revenue last year. JLL is the second-largest player in the U.S., with a market cap of some $14 billion and bringing in $26.1 billion in revenue in 2025.

However, Savills maintains a leaner operation, with an EBITDA margin of nearly 7 percent compared to CBRE’s 5.4 percent and JLL’s 6.9 percent.

In a memo announcing the deal, Savills said the move will create “a global real estate powerhouse, well positioned as a leading provider of capital markets solutions with a complete service offering.”

Almost three-quarters of Eastdil’s revenue was generated in North America, compared to Savill’s 13 percent. In its announcement, Savills said it expects the combined firm’s revenue to balloon to about $4 billion, with 23 percent of it coming from North America.

As part of the deal, Eastdil, whose 650 employees will join Savills’ nearly 42,000, will keep its name and profit-pooling structure, which is unique in the commercial real estate world. However, some of Eastdil’s employees who held equity in the company will now get a 6.3 percent stake in Savills and part of their bonuses will be paid in Savills shares.