JLL Weighing Sale of China Property Management Business

(Bloomberg) -- Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. is weighing a plan to sell its property management business in China for at least $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chicago-based real estate services provider is working with an adviser on a potential sale that has drawn interest from other property management firms and financial investors, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The firm’s real estate brokerage and valuation business in China are not part of the possible sale, they said.

Deliberations are ongoing and JLL could decide to keep its property management business in China, the people said. JLL might also seek to hold onto a stake in the business, one of the people said. A representative for JLL declined to comment.

Shares in JLL closed 0.9% higher on Thursday in New York. They are up nearly 23% in the year to date.

Last year China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings Ltd. listed their real estate management arms in Hong Kong, raising a total of $3 billion in initial public offerings.

JLL specializes in real estate and investment management. It operates in more than 80 countries and employs about 91,000 people, according to its 2020 annual report. The company reported $16.6 billion revenue in 2020, of which 58% came from property and facility management services, according to the report.

The company generated $3.1 billion in revenue from providing real estate services in Asia Pacific, of which 32% came from the Greater China region, according to the report.

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With assistance from Bloomberg