Commercial real estate mega-company Cushman & Wakefield filed for IPO, the next step on its path to ascending to the top rung with CBRE and JLL.

According to an article from The Wall Street Journal, analysts have been waiting for Cushman to file for IPO for a long time. WSJ cites a desire in Cushman's ownership group members to cash out or partially cash out on their investment in the company as a potential reason for the move.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the company is hoping to raise approximately $1 billion at a valuation of five times that much.

From the WSJ:

The company could seek to raise about $1 billion in the IPO and seek a valuation in excess of $5 billion, according to people familiar with the deal, though pricing of the deal can change until a company prices its IPO. A Cushman spokesman declined comment beyond the registration statement it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last year, Cushman’s revenue was $6.92 billion. In 2017, CBRE registered $14.2 billion and JLL registered $7.9 billion in revenue.

Part of the proceeds from the IPO are going to be used to pay down Cushman’s $3.07 billion in debt, according to the filing.