By Eugene Gilligan Steve Pumper is hoping to witness a large, market-changing deal. “I’m looking for a major player to execute a major transaction,” said the executive managing director of investment services for Transwestern. Such a deal could signal that property values have hit bottom and that the buyer is betting that values are trending back upward. For Pumper, that could bring much-needed clarity to the investment sales market. A worsening economy, a derailed CMBS market and more-conservative lending have all contributed to an investment sales environment that will likely see a steep falloff from 2007’s $435 billion worth of…

By Eugene Gilligan Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s 90th year was particularly busy. The firm received a major capital investment from a new majority stakeholder, expanded globally both organically and through acquisitions and purchased a majority stake in real estate investment banking firm Sonnenblick-Goldman L.L.C. Not bad for a nonagenarian. The new investor provided both heightened means and added impetus to a company already focused on continued growth. IFIL Group, the investment entity for Italy’s powerful Agnelli family, closed in April 2007 on the purchase of The Rockefeller Group’s 71.5 percent stake in Cushman & Wakefield, paying a total cash consideration…