A combination of Dallas-based commercial real estate broker Staubach Co. and Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. will probably create the country's second-largest commercial property services firm.

And the merger of the two real estate companies – rumored for more than a year – could ultimately cost Jones Lang LaSalle more than $725 million.

Joining with Jones Lang LaSalle will give Staubach Co. the global reach it needs to do business, founder Roger Staubach said Monday.

"Over the years, the international presence has become more important for more of our customers," Mr. Staubach said. "We had to have a seamless global ability for customers' needs.

"Jones Lang LaSalle is one heck of a company," he said. "They have a fantastic international presence and are larger than us."

Word of the pending purchase of Staubach by Jones Lang LaSalle has been widespread in recent weeks.

"It's really been worked out in the last year," Mr. Staubach said. "It takes a lot of time to turn a possibility into a reality."

The deal should be completed by the third quarter.

"We'd like to have it done in early July," Mr. Staubach said. "The basics have been done – we all signed off on everything this afternoon."

The sale is the biggest such transaction since Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. was purchased by CB Richard Ellis in 2006 for $2.2 billion.

The combined companies will operate under the Jones Lang LaSalle name.

Mr. Staubach will join Jones Lang LaSalle's board and will have the company title of executive chairman, Americas. Other Staubach Co. officers will also have top management positions in the firm.

Colin Dyer, Jones Lang LaSalle chief executive, said Staubach Co. will significantly add to his firm's tenant representation business.

"Clearly it's the bulk of what they do, but the merger goes beyond that," Mr. Dyer said. "For us, it strengthens our U.S. local operations around the country.

"It also strengthens our corporate business worldwide."

To buy Staubach, Jones Lang LaSalle is paying $613 million, with $123 million in cash and $100 million in stock paid at the transaction close, with the balance paid out in cash over five years. The agreement includes additional payments of up to $114 million over several years depending on performance.

Mr. Staubach, 66, founded his real estate brokerage in 1977 and has developed it into the country's fourth-largest, behind CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle. "I would have never dreamed" the firm would grow so large, he said.

Based on 2007 transaction totals, Staubach and the much larger Jones Lang LaSalle's combined deal volume will total more than $170 billion a year.

In the Dallas area, Staubach Co. has handled some of the largest commercial property transactions on record – including the moves of Exxon Corp. (now Exxon Mobil) and GTE Telephone (now Verizon) to Irving.

Last year, Mr. Staubach stepped down as the firm's CEO but remained as executive chairman. The switch was part of a management reshuffling and recapitalization of the company, which is owned by about 300 shareholders.

Mr. Staubach launched his real estate career in the 1970s while still the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

"I thought the NFL world was competitive, but the real estate world was just as competitive," Mr. Staubach said. "It keeps your adrenaline going."

As with any such real estate company merger, it's likely that some Staubach Co. officers and brokers may leave the firm. When Crow was purchased by CB Richard Ellis, a sizable number departed.

"It will be interesting to see what happens with the professionals at Staubach," said Jim Lob, senior vice president with real estate broker UGL Equis. "It's one more competitor off the boards.

"I think it is a great move for Jones Lang LaSalle."

Jones Lang LaSalle was created with the 1999 merger of LaSalle Partners and the London firm Jones Lang Wootton.

The purchase of Staubach Co. does not include Staubach Retail and Cypress Equities, two affiliated firms that will remain independent.

STAUBACH CO.

Founded: 1977 in Dallas
Executive chairman: Roger Staubach
Offices: More than 70 throughout North America with about 1,600 employees
Business: Represents more than 3,000 clients in office, industrial and retail real estate transactions
Operations: 7,280 transactions totaling 200 million square feet completed during the fiscal year ending in June 2007.

JONES LANG LaSALLE INC.

Created: 1999; based in Chicago
CEO: Colin Dyer
Offices: 170 worldwide (54 in the Americas) with more than 30,000 employees
Operations: Manages 1.2 billion square feet of real estate in more than 700 cities in 60 countries.
Revenue: 2007 global total of $2.7 billion

SOURCE: The companies