According to insider sources familiar with the situation,
LaSalle Investment Management Inc. -- the property-fund unit of
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated
(
JLL
) -- a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), is seeking to
raise capital worth $700 million for an Asia-Pacific property
fund.
The strategic move is aimed to capitalize on the solid growth
projection in the region, which is slated to grow by about 6% in
2012 according to the conservative forecast of the International
Monetary Fund. Earlier in 2011, investments in Asia-Pacific
commercial property increased by 13% to become the world's second
largest investment haven, as cited by a report from property broker
DTZ.
Buoyed by this strong growth dynamic, LaSalle Investment has
already acquired an industrial asset in China and an office
property in Japan to seed the new investment vehicle titled Asia
Opportunity Fund IV. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the fund
would seek industrial properties and hotels in Australia and China,
retail properties in Australia, industrial assets and offices in
Japan, and higher-return housing in select cities in China.
Managing a portfolio of $47.2 billion of private and public
property equity investments, LaSalle Investment is one of the
world's leading real estate investment managers. The company
operates as an independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle is a full-service real estate
services firm that provides corporate, financial and investment
management services to corporations and other real estate owners,
users, and investors worldwide. A broad real estate product and
service range, and extensive knowledge of domestic and
international real estate markets, enable the company to operate as
a one-stop provider of real estate solutions.
Jones Lang continually invests in industry-leading research to
identify emerging trends and anticipate future conditions to
respond to the shifting market and business trends of its clients.
This enables the company to develop new investment products and
services tailored to the specific investment goals and objectives
of its clients, thereby maintaining profitable long-term
relationships during challenging market conditions.
We maintain our Neutral rating on Jones Lang, which presently
has a Zacks #1 Rank that translates into a short-term Strong Buy
rating. However, we have an Outperform recommendation and a Zacks
#3 Rank (short-term Hold rating) for
CBRE Group, Inc.
(
CBG
), a competitor of Jones Lang.
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