9 reasons Savills is buying Eastdil Secured for $1.2B
1. Instant U.S. capital markets presence
Savills is a $2B+ global services firm without a serious U.S. institutional capital markets practice. Eastdil closes that gap overnight.
2. Data franchise
$3T+ in completed transactions since 2009. 750 professionals. A proprietary data lake covering every major institutional deal in North America, Europe, and Asia. Roy March said: "There isn't a block in New York City I can't point to where we haven't had involvement." Not many franchises can say that.
3. 3x return in six years
Guggenheim and Temasek bought Eastdil from Wells Fargo for $400M in 2019. At $1.2B, they're walking away with a big number. Temasek also gets a continued strategic relationship with the firm through the deal structure.
4. Cultural independence
Eastdil stays Eastdil. Brand intact. Last time Roy did a handoff like this, the firm compounded from $30B to $250B+ in annual transaction volume under institutional ownership. Different world now but worth pointing out.
5. Digital infrastructure pipeline
Roy March recently said that digital infrastructure will be 20-25% of Eastdil's global business. The addressable market: $7 trillion in capital deployment over the next decade. Savills just bought front-row positioning.
6. Turnkey relationship network
GIC. APG. PGGM. Australia Super. The sovereign wealth fund community. These relationships took 50 years to build.
7. Rebounding transaction cycle
Roy called for 40-60% volume increases in 2025 vs. the prior year. Savills likely thinks it is buying at the beginning of a recovery cycle.
8. Real estate investment banking white space
Owner: "How did you climb to the top of the brokerage game?"
Eastdil: "We're not brokers. We're investment bankers."
Owners: "...but you sell and finance properties."
Eastdil: "We don't split commissions. We get paid to advise, in hot and cold markets."
Owners (to friends): "Brokers hate being called brokers, but Eastdil really is different."
9. Savills' European network + Eastdil's U.S. engine
Eastdil has 120 people in Europe (vs. 3 in 2012). Savills has deep European and Asian distribution. Combined, the two firms cover institutional capital flows from every major LP in the world. The perhaps just put the big brokerages on notice as international capital flows prove to be more resielient than feared a year or so ago.
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Jon Gray said: "Betting against Eastdil or against Roy March is not a great idea."
Savills just agreed.
Someone will have regrets...
A) Will Savills regret the big price and the debt it'll likely take to finance this deal?
B) Or will the big U.S. brokerages regret allowing the first big intermediary with a legit European anchor to buy a leading U.S. franchise?
PS -- congrats to our friends at Eastdil for charting a uniquely valuable path.
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