NEW YORK CITY-In the past 10 years, Globest.com has reported on a host of mega-sized M&A deals. In a close race, Blackstone’s $36-billion purchase of Equity Office Properties in February 2007 took the top spot. That deal scored 47% of respondents. Finishing close behind were the Trammell Crow-CB Richard Ellis merger in 2006 at 40% and the Staubach Co. merger with Jones Lang LaSalle in 2008 at 35%.

In gauging the significance of the EOP/Blackstone transaction, one respondent simply called it “the bellwether deal.” Another respondent praised “Samuel Zell. Amazing how Zell knows just the right time to max out his office investment.” However, another respondent, while putting EOP/Blackstone at the top of his list, was critical of the result, calling it, “A quick dissolving of the biggest portfolio of properties to insignificant status.”

While not near the size or scope of the EOP deal, last month Blackstone Real Estate Advisors agreed to buy ProLogis’ industrial portfolio of 180 properties, minority interest in the Hilltop New Orleans Riverside hotel and interest in three ProLogis property funds for $1.02 billion.

Those who thought the Trammell Crow/CBRE merger was tops had their reasons. “The world's largest real estate services company is born,” one respondent wrote, adding that, “New service platforms are created industry-wide to exploit new business models. Another respondent stated that the deal, “created a development/brokerage/investment powerhouse.”

The rest of the best M&As of the past decade were: GGP/Brookfield (No. 4); Insignia/CB Richard Ellis (No. 5); Hilton/Blackstone (No. 6); Archstone Smith/Tishman (No. 7); ProLogis/Catellus (No. 8); Trizec/Blackstone & Brookfield (No. 9); and Rockefeller Group/Mitsubishi (No. 10).

Tomorrow: Look for the results of the Globest.com survey “Worst Deals.”

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John Jordan

John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.