Real Estate Firms in E-Commerce Venture

CB Richard Ellis Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and Trammell Crow Co. said their North American joint venture will be focused initially on procurement, transactions, support services and business-to-business and business-to-consumer initiatives. The three firms will have equal ownership in the new venture, which is expected to operate as a separate business with a distinct brand. The venture’s services are expected to be rolled out beginning this summer. The venture will seek to use the companies’ combined size to control costs and seek economies of scale on purchases. The three companies collectively spend more than $5 billion annually on products and services and control more than 1.2 billion square feet of property.