June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., the world's second-largest commercial real estate broker, agreed to buy the Staubach Co. for $613 million to expand its tenant representation business.

Jones Lang will pay $123 million in cash, $100 million in stock and the balance over five years in cash, the companies said today in a statement. Dallas-based Staubach, founded by former National Football League star Roger Staubach, helps tenants find office, retail and industrial space.

The purchase may help Jones Lang counter anticipated declines in commissions from commercial property sales. Global real estate investment is expected to fall 30 percent in 2008, Jones Lang estimated in March. While commercial office rents continue to rise in London, Moscow and New York, the world's biggest financial firms have curtailed lending amid at least $379 billion in mortgage-related losses and writedowns.

``It gives them a significant boost in the corporate real estate arena,'' Michael Dow, president of CresaPartners LLC, a Boston-based commercial broker specializing in tenant representation, said in an interview. ``Strategically it's a smart move.''

CresaPartners competes with Staubach. Dow said he thinks his company will benefit as Jones Lang absorbs Staubach.

Growth Plans

``We are planning on growing the business dramatically and we need all the folks we can get,'' Peter Roberts, Jones Lang's chief executive officer for the Americas, said in an interview. ``It's a pretty powerful merger and a pretty powerful marriage.''

Roger Staubach will join the Jones Lang board and take the post of executive chairman, Americas, the statement said.

Staubach ``has been active in our discussions about making the most of this marriage'' and plans to continue daily involvement, Roberts said. No layoffs are planned, he said.

The Staubach Co. has about 1,100 employees in more than 50 offices in North America, according to its Web site.

Commercial transactions in the U.S. may fall as much as 40 percent in 2008 from last year, Jones Lang said. The U.S. accounted for more than 90 percent of $304 billion in real estate investment in the Americas last year, according to Jones Lang data.

Commission Revenue

Jones Lang earned about 29 percent of its $2.7 billion in revenue from operations in the Americas and 8 percent representing tenants in 2007, a proportion Roberts said he expects to double as a result of the Staubach acquisition. Commissions from brokering commercial property sales accounted for about 22 percent of Jones Lang's sales last year.

Staubach's clients have included FedEx Corp., Bridgestone Corp., Volkswagen of America Inc. and New York state. Negotiations with Jones Lang began earlier this year, Roberts said.

A 1965 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Staubach led the NFL's Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl championships. He founded the real estate company in 1977 and stepped down as its chief executive officer last June.

Staubach didn't return a telephone call for comment.

Jones Lang rose $1.14 to $67.08 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today. The stock is down 41 percent in the 12 months through today, compared with a 45 percent drop for CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the largest commercial brokerage.

Jones Lang has 170 offices in more than 60 countries. It represents tenants, and manages, leases and values commercial real estate and has a portfolio of about 1 billion square feet of space. It also manages about $41 billion in assets.

Morgan Stanley; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and DLA Piper advised Jones Lang. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP advised Staubach.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sharon L. Lynch in New York at sllynch@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 16, 2008 19:02 EDT