NEW YORK CITY-BGC Partners has agreed to acquire the real estate advisory firm Newmark, the company announced today in a news release. Newmark operates in the US as Newmark Knight Frank, which is based in New York and has offices in key real estate markets across the country.

BGC Partners provides voice and electronic brokerage services. Howard W. Lutnick, the company’s chairman and CEO, praised the deal, saying, “This is the beginning of a dramatic new footprint in commercial real estate by BGC, and the definitive starting point of BGC’s strategy to grow into this sector.”

For its part, Newmark executives expressed admiration for the BGC team, as well as excitement about the integration of its real estate business with BGC’s voice technology. “This is a terrific development for Newmark’s brokers and our clients,” James D. Kuhn, president of Newmark said in a release. “Our business will capitalize on BGC’s cutting-edge platform and continuing investment in technology, and our brokers will be able to increase their productivity and continue to expand the range of services they offer our clients.”