CFO Intelligence Magazine – Fall 2024
Andrew Zezas
Real Estate Strategies Corporation Strategist CFO
When companies consider engaging in a buy-side M&A transaction, “Management often waits until a potential acquisition target is identified or until negotiations are well under way or even completed before analyzing the real estate considerations,” observes Andrew Zezas, Strategist & CEO of Real Estate Strategies Corporation, a New Jersey-based
corporate real estate advisory and transaction services firm. “An acquirer’s interests would be better served if they addressed real estate issues even before they identify a potential acquisition.
Zezas, who has advised corporate occupants on real estate matters since 1985, says that, given the strategic role of real
estate assets, “It is vital to consider, early on, not only how an acquisition will be integrated from an operating and financial perspective, but also from a real estate perspective…and how existing real estate could enhance or derail a buy-side transaction.”
EARLY STAGE STRATEGY
He says to start by assessing your company’s existing real estate whether leased, or owned, or otherwise and consider how real estate might positively or negatively affect an intended transaction from an operating, financial, or risk-based perspective.