Dottie Herman, Douglas Elliman CEO/ Photo: Facebook

NEW YORK CITY—Vector Group Ltd's wholly-owned real estate subsidiary, New Valley, LLC has purchased for $40 million a 29.41% minority interest in Douglas Elliman Realty that was held by DTHY Realty, Inc. and Dorothy (“Dottie”) Herman. Prior to the deal, New Valley held a 70.59% interest in the brokerage firm, and the transaction brings its ownership interest to 100%.

Vector Group's 8-K filed with the SEC on Dec. 31, 2018 also stated that at the closing New Valley paid Herman $10 million and will pay the remaining $30 million in 12 equal quarterly installments beginning on Jan. 1, 2020 and ending on Oct. 1, 2022, with interest on the outstanding principal balance.

In a press release, Vector and Douglas Elliman stated Herman, who is the CEO at Douglas Elliman, would continue in her role. In December 2017, GlobeSt.com had reported that the brokerage's COO Scott Durkin was named president. Herman had been both the CEO and president and continued in her role as CEO after Durkin's promotion.

Vector Group is a holding company with two major businesses: the tobacco company Liggett Group, LLC and the real estate company New Valley, LLC, which now fully owns Douglas Elliman.

In a June 2018 interview with Time magazine, Herman recounted how she worked at Merrill Lynch. In 1989, the company sold their real estate business to Prudential. She told the publication that in 1990, she borrowed $9 million from Prudential to purchase Prudential Long Island Realty and built the company into a “powerhouse brokerage on Long Island and then in the Hamptons.”

In 2003, Herman and Howard M. Lorber acquired Douglas Elliman for $72 million as reported in her August 2010 interview with The New York Times. Lorber is currently still the president and CEO of Vector Group and chairman of Douglas Elliman.

“Dottie and I couldn't have imagined that the venture we embarked on years ago would grow into the largest residential brokerage firm in the New York metropolitan area. Her vision for and dedication to Douglas Elliman have proven invaluable and have helped cement Douglas Elliman as one of the country's premiere brokerages,” Lorber says. “We are excited about the next phase of Douglas Elliman's growth, and are confident the company is well positioned for the future.”

“I couldn't be more proud of the company that Howard and I created,” says Herman. The firm currently has more than 7,000 affiliated agents, operating out of approximately 115 offices in the US.