London-headquartered Savills PLC will enter the already competitive San Diego County commercial real estate brokerage market, after its $260 million acquisition and merger with New York-based Studley Inc.

Studley is privately held and has 25 U.S. offices, including one in Carmel Valley that employs a staff of nine. Savills is buying Studley, and the merged company will be called Savills Studley after the deal closes by the end of May, Studley officials said.

Savills (London Stock Exchange: SVS) was established in 1855 and has more than 500 offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. According to its website, most of its 18 U.S. offices are in the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay markets, and its office closest to San Diego is in Newport Beach.

Plans have not been finalized for the local market, but there is currently little overlap between the two brands’ geographic locations, said Michael Labelle, senior vice president and branch manager of Studley’s San Diego office. Studley’s existing local clients will be able to access new facility management, consulting and related services after the merger.

“That will obviously require an increase in local workforce,” Labelle said in an email.

Studley’s San Diego office handled $302 million in local transactions in 2012, placing it eighth among commercial brokerage companies based on deal volume, according to data submitted by brokers for the 2014 San Diego Business Journal Book of Lists.

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