A spokeswoman for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in Chicago says there is no comment from its camp. Like others, JLL's corporate policy bars commenting on material transactions until finalized. An interview request is pending with Dallas-based Staubach's corporate chief, who was unavailable by GlobeSt.com's early afternoon deadline. Neither company has arbitrarily dismissed the inquiry as purely rumor.

The long-standing merger rumor has been surfacing periodically in the market for nearly two years. Some market watchers say the catalysts have been the 2007 corporate shifts by Roger Staubach and a value-building move earlier this year when Staubach gave up stock to franchisees so they'd convert their operations into branch offices.

Of course, JLL's buying mode this year lends more credence to the street talk than previous market chatter. Earlier this month, JLL completed the acquisition of Kempber's Holding GmbH, a Germany-based retail company. In a May 6 filing with the SEC, JLL, which signed the merger agreement in January, reported the deal made it the largest property advisory business in Germany, picking up offices in Leipzig, Cologne and Hannover. In April, JLL bought Leechiu & Associates, an agency business in the Philippines, and a 10% stake in Alkas, a Turkish-based commercial real estate firm. According to the SEC filing, the triple play cost $134.2 million.