Inside Cresa’s Game-Changing Acquisition of Fischer
Cliff Fischer, Sharon Morrison, and Mohr Partners' Robert Shibuya reveal how the deal came together—and what it means for the industry.
About a year ago, leaders at Fischer hired an investment banker and began exploring potential buyers for the business. The Dallas-based commercial real estate firm, founded in 1985 to focus on tenant representation before evolving into a national and global corporate services provider, was ready for a new chapter.
Key to that process was finding a buyer that would preserve Fischer’s long-standing commitment to occupier clients. “Many of the companies that were like ours have merged into the big global real estate companies,” Chairman and CEO Cliff Fischer told D CEO.
So, Fischer shopped the market. After conversations with several entities—including Mohr Partners, confirms Mohr Chairman and CEO Robert Shibuya, and Savills—Fischer ultimately struck a deal with Cresa. “It’s the largest tenant-representation firm that allows us to keep our platform without the conflict of interest that comes with representing landlords,” Fischer said.
Per Shibuya, the firms that made sense for Fischer to talk with were Cresa, Savills, and Mohr Partners. Of the ultimate partner, Cresa, “their strength is really their market presence—they have more dots on the map,” Shibuya told D CEO. “They have more brokers, but what they lacked was some of the infrastructure that Fischer will bring to the table—the technology and the expertise in running portfolio accounts. In that regard, it’s a good marriage. There’s a lot of synergy when you combine the two together.”