CHICAGO—Mergers have become common in the world of commercial real estate, and as reported in GlobeSt.com, Colliers International recently helped grow its presence in the Midwest through a few key acquisitions. And company officials expect that the industry will continue to see mergers and further consolidation.

"We're very much focused on growth," Craig Robinson, president of Colliers International | USA, tells GlobeSt.com, "and regional and local firms see the need to be part of an international platform." The firm just acquired Summit Realty Group in Indianapolis and also recently acquired Gateway Commercial in St. Louis, firms which had been affiliated with Cushman & Wakefield. Gateway officials say C&W's recent acquisition of DTZ, one of its main competitors, had created some redundancies and becoming part of Colliers made more sense.

Occupiers are increasingly looking for providers that can help them in multiple markets, Robinson adds, and regional firms like Summit and Gateway have responded to that demand by making sure they join one of the big players that can help them leverage expertise across many geographic areas. Furthermore, many may also be seeking the ability to provide more services within their existing markets.

And whatever the smaller firms' motivation, such mergers also make sense for Colliers because "there are many solid local market leaders," Robinson says, and it deepens its operations in key metros. Summit, for example, is the largest firm in its market. "It was an opportunity for Summit to pursue their strategic goals and for us there was an opportunity to align ourselves with a firm for which we have a lot of respect."

"That's where we think the industry is heading," he adds. "That doesn't mean boutique firms can't carve out a niche and thrive." Just prior to Colliers acquiring Summit, its previous Central Indiana partner, Resource Commercial Real Estate, decided to go back to independence after about five years with Colliers.

The Midwest has become a particular focus for Colliers, partly because so many clients in Chicago would like to pursue opportunities there. "We need to have strong operations in the surrounding regions," Robinson says. Colliers has significant operations not just in Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis, but in the metro areas of Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, among others.

And to help push that growth even more, the company just hired Steve Everbach as its new president of the central region. The Dallas-based Everbach will also have management responsibility for operations in North Texas. He has held senior leadership positions in professional services firms as well as investment management and development companies. In a 30-year career, Everbach has also completed over eight million square feet of real estate transactions representing an aggregate value of more than $1.5 billion. He also joins Colliers' US executive leadership team and operating committee.

The new hire, says Robinson, "is emblematic of our commitment to growing in the central region."