Newmark To Buy Out Lutnick For $127M As Commerce Secretary Divests From Businesses

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick vowed to divest from his businesses within 90 days if confirmed to President Donald Trump's Cabinet. Monday marks the deadline Lutnick set for himself, and the billionaire is seemingly making good on his pledge.

Howard Lutnick White House
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Talking To Reporters From The Oval Office On May 8.

New York-based Newmark announced Monday that it agreed to pay $127M to repurchase just fewer than 11 million shares from Lutnick, who left his role at the top of the commercial real estate services firm shortly after his confirmation on Feb. 18.

"This transaction presented a unique opportunity to efficiently acquire a substantial number of shares at what we believe was a favorable price," Newmark Chief Financial Officer Michael Rispoli said in a statement.

The transaction is being executed as part of Newmark’s existing buyback program. Executives at the firm say the stock is underpriced, and the repurchase program is authorized to buy another $245M in stock beyond Lutnick’s stake.

Newmark’s stock was unmoved by the news, trading flat early Monday along with the three major indexes.

Newmark is paying Lutnick Friday’s closing price for his shares, and the commerce secretary will be fully divested from the firm once the sale is completed.

The real estate firm saw double-digit growth across all of its business lines in the first quarter, but the tit-for-tat tariff battle tempered optimism on its earnings call.

"Given the macro environment, I think we’re just taking a more cautious approach right now," Rispoli said on the April 30 call.

Lutnick was replaced as the chairman of the operating company Newmark & Co. by longtime executive Barry Gosin, with Newmark Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Stephen Merkel taking Lutnick’s spot as chairman of the board.

Lutnick’s investment firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, also announced Monday that the secretary’s sons would take over operations as it brought in new limited partners.

The former chairman and CEO will use trusts to transfer the business to Brandon Lutnick, who took over as chairman and CEO after Lutnick went to Washington, as well as Kyle Lutnick and his other adult children.

Brandon Lutnick will act as controlling trustee of the trusts, and two new partners are investing in Cantor Fitzgerald behind Howard Lutnick’s exit, although the size of their investment wasn't disclosed. Alternative asset management firm 26North, led by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris, and Glenn August, the CEO of Oak Hill Advisors, will act as minority investors in the firm.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Senior Housing Buyers Are Paying Up, But Sellers Still Need Convincing

Nuveen's C-PACE Fund Secures Over $1B, Its Biggest Raise Yet

AI Cloud Firm Nebius Raises $5.75B In Debt To Fuel Data Center Expansion

Aberdeen Goes Global With £700M Merged Fund

Sun Communities Taps Equity Residential Veteran As New CFO

Data Center Deals Propel July CRE Sales Volume To Best Performance Since 2005

Dog Haus Pursues Major Expansion After Tapping Former Jersey Mike's Execs

'Aggressive' Antitrust Settlement Unwinds $100M Zillow, Redfin Deal

Trump's New Canadian Tariffs To Spike Additional Materials Costs

Wells Fargo Moves To Foreclose On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Portfolio

Turner Construction Hit With Cyberattack, Hackers Claim Leaks Of Military Info, NDAs

Latest Round Of Fannie Mae Senior Staff Layoffs Has Multifamily Sector Anxious