‘Natural Fit’: Koman Group to Merge with Keeley Development Segment
Date Posted: December 4, 2019
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Business Journal: Two prominent local companies are joining forces to create a new firm that they say will leverage their respective strengths to become a powerhouse in real estate development in St. Louis.
Clayton-based Koman Group, the developer behind high-profile projects such as Cupples 9 and City Place, will merge with Keeley Cos.’ Keeley Development Group, effective Friday.
The newly merged entity will be known as KDG and will encompass Koman’s development pipeline and property management as well as Keeley’s Gateway Plaza project.
Koman Group President Jason Braidwood and Keeley Cos. CEO Rusty Keeley said the merger with Keeley Development Group is a “natural fit,” adding that KDG will combine Koman’s reputation, creativity and experience in asset management with Keeley Cos.’ resources, culture and construction management background.
Keeley Cos., the Midtown-based holdings company that’s comprised of construction, infrastructure and technology firms, is one of the biggest privately held companies in St. Louis with $388 million in revenue. Koman Group did not disclose revenue.
“At the Koman Group, we didn’t really know if we were a collection of projects or if we were a property management firm and development firm in perpetuity. And this allowed us to say, we are definitively not going anywhere. We’re definitely going to manage. We’re definitely going to develop and we’re definitely committing to St. Louis,” Braidwood said. “We do consider a moral responsibility to do right by St. Louis. Doing well while doing good is a necessity.”
Discussions between Braidwood and Keeley, who met through the Young Presidents’ Organization, began in 2018. It was an opportune time for Keeley who was determining whether he should hire an experienced executive to take his development company to the next level.
“That has its own set of challenges. So for us, our biggest challenge was integration and it’s worked out phenomenally,” Keeley said. “We’re able to enhance the deal flow they already have, plus create growth and opportunity for their people.”