Binswanger Sells Minority Stake to Key Employees

By Scott Baltic

Following 85 years of being wholly family-owned, The Binswanger Cos. has sold a minority interest of the business to a group of its key employees. David Binswanger and his cousin, Frank “Jeff” Binswanger III, had owned 100 percent of the enterprise and are now managing directors. Sixteen Binswanger employees across the country were part of the transaction. 

“The world is changing. Today, our primary competition is public companies,” David Binswanger said in a prepared statement. “We have always prided ourselves on the personal interest that a family company has with its clients and people. Extending ownership to those who have been a part of that allows us to spread that philosophy in a tangible way.”

A board comprising the two Binswangers, two employees and an independent member will now run the company. Douglas Faris, a senior vice president in Binswanger’s Charlotte, N.C., office and Eric Dienstbach, a senior vice president in the Denver office, will be the first two employees to serve on the board. Russell Lewis, president & CEO of Lewis Capital, will be the first person to hold the independent seat.

“This new structure allows us to attract and retain the best talent as we continue to grow,” added Frank Binswanger.

The terms of the sale were not disclosed, and Binswanger did not respond to Commercial Property Executive’s request for additional information. Binswanger’s clients include such companies as Comcast, Amgen, Kohler, Bissell, Bombardier and United Technologies.

Diverse deals

In March, Binswanger represented Eliken Property Management in its sale of an approximately 1.5 million-square-foot distribution center in Corsicana, Texas. The 139-acre, rail-served property had previously been occupied by Home Depot and was purchased by Solo Cup/Dart Container. The deal was then reportedly the largest industrial sale in Texas this year.

Also in March and in Texas, Binswanger successfully marketed a former Randalls grocery distribution center in Houston on behalf of Albertsons Co. The 700,644-square-foot property was purchased by Crow Holdings Industrial, which plans to expand the project considerably.

And in June, David Binswanger represented pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen in its signing of a lease for a 12-story, 427,333-square-foot transit-oriented office tower in Conshohocken, Pa. The building, which AmerisourceBergen will occupy as its corporate headquarters, is part of SORA West, a mixed-use project by Keystone Property Group. Delivery of the office is expected in 2020.