NEW YORK CITY-In the latest major deal in the M&A arena, C-III Capital Partners LLC has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NAI Global, reportedly the largest network of independent commercial real estate firms worldwide, the company revealed Wednesday morning.

C-III, led by Andrew L. Farkas, founder, chairman and CEO of Insignia Financial Group, Inc., says NAI Global will continue to operate as a separate company under its current management. With 5,000 employees worldwide, NAI currently manages a network of 350 offices in the US and 55 countries throughout the world.

Following the acquisition, Farkas says C-III plans to use its asset base, along with strategic acquisitions such as NAI, to “create a fully diversified” commercial real estate services company. “This is the strategy that was successful for Insignia,” Farkas says, in a prepared statement. “C-III is led by the same team that built Insignia, and with C-III’s significantly larger asset base, I believe C-III can substantially exceed Insignia’s success.”