LOS ANGELES—CBRE Group Inc. is continuing to bolster its project management platform with an agreement announced Thursday to acquire Heery International Inc. for $57 million from Balfour Beatty LLC. Based in Atlanta, Heery is the project management and design engineering business of Balfour Beatty, which has owned it for more than 25 years.

Mike Lafitte, CBRE's global group president, lines of business, notes that Heery has “a strong track record of client service with many longstanding relationships spanning decades.” In particular, he cites Heery's ability “to deepen our relationships in the public and educational sectors, grow our position in such new vertical segments as aviation and sports, and add capabilities and expertise in design engineering services.”

The acquisition is expected to close by year's end. Post-closing, Heery will continue to be led by president Theodore Sak and COO Glenn Jardine, and will work both with project management teams who focus on local markets and with CBRE's corporate outsourcing business line, Global Workplace Solutions. Founded in 1952, Heery has approximately 535 employees across 19 US offices, and provides services that include project management, architecture, engineering, interior design and commissioning.

Balfour Beatty acquired a 50% interest in Heery in 1986 and took full ownership in 1990. In certain US markets, though, acting as program manager on a contract precludes a company from bidding as general contractor due to perceived conflicts of interest. London-based Balfour Beatty says the sale of Heery removes this constraint from its US Buildings operation, while enabling it to partner with Heery on a wide range of potential projects going forward.