The trend toward larger, full-service real estate firms continues with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s acquisition of CRE Group.

Newmark was in the market for a team with strong project and construction management practices, reports the San Francisco Business Times. CRE’s presence in the Bay Area provided a compelling case for acquisition.

The two companies have worked together in the past, and CRE Group CEO Rob Cockrum says there was a strong cultural fit. The 34-employee CRE will assume project management responsibility for NGKF’s Bay Area and Pacific Northwest areas.

NGKF is itself the product of mergers. Founded in 1958, the company initially served clients in the Bay Area as Grubb & Ellis. While the credit crisis brought the nationwide company to bankruptcy in 2012, it was rescued by BGC Partners. The new company, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, purchased Cornish & Carey in 2014.

Project management continues to draw interest as getting large, complicated projects done on time is a crucial factor in winning deals. [SFBT]