Edina Realty Parent in Merger to Create Mega-Franchise

By Janet Moore

(MCT)-The parent company of Edina Realty is joining forces with Brookfield Asset Management to form a new real estate mega-franchise.

Home Services of America Inc., the Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and owner of Edina Realty, is partnering with Brookfield to form Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. The new franchise, which will launch in 2013, joins together all of the existing brands and affiliate networks of Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate. The new company will be based in Irvine, Calif.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The combined networks include more than 53,000 Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate agents nationwide who generated more than $72 billion in residential real estate sales volume last year.

The new franchise is “built upon the financial strength and leadership of Brookfield and HomeServices,” said Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, in a statement. “I am confident that these partners will deliver value to the residential real estate industry, and I am pleased to have Berkshire Hathaway be part of the new brand.”

© 2012 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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