CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Dec 17, 2015) - JLL (NYSE: JLL) today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) as part of its commitment to being a leading advisor to the hospitality industry. SAG primarily provides public entities with a full slate of development advisory services including asset management, tourism strategy and marketing, contract negotiations and public-private partnership structuring. This move reflects JLL's broader strategy of securing high-quality business acquisitions that complement and expand its existing service offerings. The acquisition is scheduled to close within the coming weeks, subject to customary closing conditions.
"Our leading team of experts collaborates with owners, operators and investors of hotels around the world to support their investment strategies," said Arthur Adler, Americas CEO of JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group. "By acquiring SAG we will expand our platform to serve public entities, as well as clients more broadly across the travel and tourism industry, further differentiating our firm from other advisors."
"SAG is built on a solid foundation of strategic consulting and asset management, and we are excited to integrate their talent with ours to become a stronger resource for the hospitality sector," added Greg Hartmann, Managing Director for JLL's strategic advisory and asset management team.
The public sector plays a key role in the hospitality industry by providing strategic investments that help the private sector thrive. SAG is currently advising on the $615 million convention center renovation and expansion in Miami Beach and helping develop convention hotels in Houston, New Orleans, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Additionally, the company recently developed 20-year destination plans for Denver and Charlotte.
"JLL offers us an opportunity to leverage a robust team, leading hospitality industry research and an established brand that is thoroughly entrenched in hospitality real estate," said Jeff Sachs, founder of SAG. "JLL's existing relationships, coupled with our expertise, will provide the platform and connections to reach an even greater audience while maintaining our strong level of commitment to our clients' unique needs."
Founded in 1998 by Sachs, who has more than 25 years in the hospitality consulting industry, SAG has assisted with strategic planning for more than 200 destinations throughout the United States and abroad. The company's experienced professionals have worked at some of the leading consulting and hospitality firms around the world including Ernst & Young, KPMG, Marriott International and Hyatt.
JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group serves as a global leader in real estate services for luxury, upscale, select service and budget hotels; timeshare and fractional ownership properties; convention centers; mixed-use developments and other hospitality properties. The firm's more than 320 dedicated hotel and hospitality experts partner with investors and owner/operators around the globe to support and shape investment strategies that deliver maximum value throughout the entire lifecycle of an asset. In the last five years, the team completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor in the world totaling more than US $48 billion, while also completing approximately 4,500 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments. The group's hotels and hospitality specialists provide independent and expert advice to clients, backed by industry-leading research. For more news, videos and research from JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group, please visit: www.jll.com/hospitality.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. A Fortune 500 company with annual fee revenue of $4.7 billion and gross revenue of $5.4 billion, JLL has more than 230 corporate offices, operates in 80 countries and has a global workforce of approximately 58,000. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 3.4 billion square feet, or 316 million square meters, and completed $118 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2014. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $57.2 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2940670
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2940657
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2940655