RISMEDIA, March 3, 2008-Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services, announced that it has made a minority equity investment in CENTURY 21 China Real Estate, an independently owned company that serves as the master franchisor for Realogy’s CENTURY 21(r) brand in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on Realogy’s financial results.
“CENTURY 21 China Real Estate has proven itself as a leader while operating in a rapidly developing residential housing market, and we believe that the company and its senior management team are poised to capitalize on a period of high growth within the PRC,” said Richard A. Smith, president & CEO of Realogy. “We will continue to make selective investments in global real estate markets through strong local operating companies such as CENTURY 21 China Real Estate.”
According to the company, CENTURY 21 China Real Estate directly owns and operates 300 real estate brokerage offices, or stores, in Shanghai and Beijing, two of the PRC’s largest and fastest-growing cities. Additionally, the company’s franchisees and sub-franchisees operate more than 950 stores in more than 40 cities across 16 provinces. In total, more than 11,000 sales associates work under the CENTURY 21 real estate brand in the PRC.
CENTURY 21 China Real Estate is among the three largest residential real estate brokerages in 90% of its markets, and is the largest firm in 30% of those markets.
“We are proud of the success we have experienced since our affiliation with the CENTURY 21 System eight years ago,” said Donald Zhang, chairman, CENTURY 21 China Real Estate. “With this added support from Realogy Corporation, we are even more confident that we can continue the growth of our company and the CENTURY 21 network in the People’s Republic of China.”
For more information, visit www.realogy.com.
