Clockwise from top left: NAI Summit Managing Partner Jeffrey Garibaldi Jr., NAI James E. Hanson President William Hanson, NAI James E. Hanson Chairman Peter Hanson and The Garibaldi Group CEO Jeffrey Garibaldi Sr. met recently to mark NAI Hanson’s acquisition of The Garibaldi Group and NAI Summit — Courtesy: NAI James E. Hanson
By Joshua Burd
NAI James E. Hanson has acquired The Garibaldi Group, bringing together two of New Jersey’s oldest and most recognizable brokerage and real estate services firms.
The companies, which have existed for a combined 180 years, said Thursday that the transaction brings NAI Hanson’s headcount to more than 100 and its properties under management to more than 10 million square feet. The acquisition also includes NAI Summit of Allentown, Pennsylvania, which Garibaldi acquired last spring.
NAI Hanson President William C. Hanson will now serve in that role for the three companies, whose merger was first reported by NJBIZ. The Garibaldi team will move from its longtime home in Chatham to NAI Hanson’s Parsippany office at 10 Lanidex Plaza West, while NAI Summit will continue to operate under its name and from its Allentown office.
“This is very exciting. Our families have multigenerational relationships. We have similar cultures and values that make this feel like a natural fit,” said Hanson, whose firm is based in Teterboro. “Our acquisition of The Garibaldi Group and NAI Summit will strengthen our geographic reach across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, deepen our presence and reinforce our expertise in important asset classes. We are thrilled to welcome The Garibaldi Group and NAI Summit to the NAI James E. Hanson team and look forward to leveraging our combined strengths to deliver an unmatched level of service to our clients.”
Garibaldi, or TGG, is now in its fourth generation of family leadership after its 1919 founding. The boutique firm has a long history of representing clients such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Prudential Financial and Honeywell, while most recently representing Freshpet Inc. in a lease for a new ground-up headquarters in Bedminster developed by Advance Realty Investors.
TGG acquired NAI Summit last year as part of a plan to grow beyond its roots in corporate office leasing, giving it an established, robust property management team and a group of brokers with vast experience in acquisition, disposition and leasing deals in the Lehigh Valley.
“The roots of this transaction trace back to our acquisition of NAI Summit, combined with our family’s more than 50-year relationship with the Hansons,” said Jeffrey Garibaldi Jr., managing partner of NAI Summit, who will remain in the role and continue to oversee day-to-day operations in tandem with William C. Hanson. “This key strategic move will enable us to join forces in the northern New Jersey market to deliver an unmatched commercial real estate services experience to businesses of all sizes.”
NAI Hanson, for its part, has been a mainstay in northern New Jersey since its founding in 1955 as an outgrowth of the historic James E. Hanson and Co. It is one of the original members of NAI Global, the commercial real estate network with more than 325 offices worldwide, and offers services in office, industrial and retail brokerage and other areas.
“As a multigenerational family business, we saw a natural alignment with NAI James E. Hanson’s values and vision,” said Jeffrey Garibaldi Sr., The Garibaldi Group’s CEO. “This partnership represents a unique opportunity to combine our deep expertise and longstanding relationships to build one of the region’s most comprehensive and dynamic commercial real estate services platforms. We are excited to work together to continue to deliver innovative solutions and exceptional results for our clients.”
John Cromie and Amanda Kelly of Connell Foley LLP provided legal services and Kevin Collins of Aprio Advisory Group LLP served as the accountant for the transaction on NAI Hanson’s behalf. James DiGuilio and Michael Dee of O’Toole Scrivo LLC provided legal services, while Michael Zone of Weisman & Co. served as the accountants for the transaction on behalf of TGG and NAI Summit.
Garibaldi Group acquires NAI Summit to expand service lines, Lehigh Valley presence
