Former CRA Managing Partner John Stubbs was named a managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle.

In a significant expansion of its platform in North Carolina, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said Tuesday it has acquired Corporate Realty Advisors (CRA), a corporate advisory services and tenant representation firm based in Charlotte and Raleigh.

The pickup immediately strengthens JLL's limited presence in the high-growth Carolina markets.

"CRA is the leading strategic advisory firm in the Triangle area and expands Jones Lang LaSalle's offering in the region. We believe our new colleagues will bring significant new client opportunities and enable us to better serve the needs of many of our national clients," Jones Lang LaSalle Americas CEO Peter Roberts said in a statement announcing the acquisition.

CRA Managing Partners John Stubbs and Austin Koon, along with Partners Michael Morgan and Louis Stephens, are joining JLL as managing directors. Seven other CRA members will also make the transition.

CRA was founded in 1994 and has completed more than 1,000 transactions valued at nearly $1 billion. Last year, the firm bolstered its own presence in North Carolina by acquiring The Stevens Co., a Charlotte-based CRESA affiliate led by Louis Stephens, one of the CRA partners now transitioning to JLL.

"We are excited to join forces with this outstanding company to help grow the firm's business in the Southeast," Stubbs stated. "We are confident in our ability to leverage the firm's global platform and first-class corporate advisory services."

According to Tim Capps, a vice president and partner in the corporate services division of Durham, NC-based Tri Properties Inc., the deal makes a lot of sense for JLL, which has a number of corporate clients in Raleigh and Charlotte but has lacked a serious presence there.

"I think the CRA play is a good one," he said, calling the acquisition a launchpad for JLL into both markets.

Capps also said that interest in the Triangle from national players has increased as the market continues to perform well. "The Triangle has a lot to offer at a fraction of the cost of larger markets. [The CRA deal] substantiates what we've known -- that this is a great market to do business in," he said.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. DLA Piper advised JLL and Kilpatrick Stockton LLP represented CRA.

JLL's Capital Markets group has completed about $500 million in transactions in the Carolinas over the past three years. It's current Carolinas team is comprised of 150 employees and includes Corporate Solutions group CEO Stuart Hicks and Open Air Retail division head Mike Longmore, who are both based in Charlotte.

JLL acquired Boston and Washington, D.C.-based Spaulding & Slye in 2006 and expanded in Los Angeles by purchasing Zietsman Realty Partners earlier this year. The firm has added more than 200 brokers over the past two years.