Cohen & Steers' Takes Full Stake in Brussels Partner

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NEW YORK CITY-If there’s a trend emerging from the market this week it seems to be the purchase of foreign affiliates by New York City-based global players. First, Cushman & Wakefield took full control of its Mexican affiliate, and now Cohen & Steers Inc. has snapped up the 50% of Houlihan Rovers SA it did not already own.

Houlihan Rovers is a Brussels-based securities asset manager in which C&S already had a 50% stake. As of June 30, 2006, the firm had $2.9 billion in assets under management, of which $2.1 billion was through its Cohen & Steers affiliation.

C&S made its initial 50% purchase in late 2004, and Robert H. Steers and Martin Cohen, who share chairman and CEO titles for their firm, became members of the Brussels board. At the time, Houlihan Rovers had $500 million in assets under management.

Of course, Cohen & Steers has been spreading its global net both eastward and westward in recent years, riding the wave of burgeoning REIT regimes on both continents. “Europe is a key market for our global real estate securities business,” co-chairman and co-CEO Robert H. Steers says in a statement relating to the new deal. He adds that full ownership of Rovers, “enables us to complete the integration of the Houlihan Rovers’ asset management team.”