Tyco Hires Trammell to Sell Space

Troubled manufacturer Tyco International Ltd. has hired Trammell Crow Co. to help consolidate and sell portions of 44 million square feet of real estate Tyco controls in North America and the Caribbean.

The campaign to pare down Bermuda-based Tyco’s real estate expenses will be run from the Los Angeles offices of Trammell Crow, a real estate services company.

As of September 2000, Tyco, a conglomerate of hundreds of businesses, owned 69.5 million square feet of office, manufacturing, distribution and warehouse space and leased an additional 57 million square feet, according to its annual filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“That footprint will get smaller,” said Mike Scimo, a principal at Trammell Crow who will lead the consolidation with another principal, Henry Johnson.

In California, Tyco has at least 175 properties totaling more than 5.5 million square feet of space. Whether that amount would be reduced or whether Tyco would cut back in other regions and expand here remains to be seen, Scimo said, but the company hopes to reduce occupancy costs by 20%.

Among the steps Trammell Crow may take: selling property, renegotiating rental agreements and relocating business operations. Tyco is Dallas-based Trammell Crow’s largest brokerage contract, Scimo said.

Shares of Tyco fell 9 cents to $22.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.