A group of high-ranking Julien J. Studley brokers are in talks to buy out the company founder and current chairman, Julien J. Studley.
Company president, Mitchell E. Steir, along with co-brokers Michael Colacino and Mark Jaccom, are among those who have approached Studley with a multi-million dollar buyout offer, The Post has learned.
Some 20 participating brokers would be expected to ante up somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000 to buy a piece of the firm, sources said. Those figures are still under review.
Sources said Steir is to become chairman. Steir is one of the most prolific producers in the country, whose deals include the lease by AOL Time Warner of its new headquarters at Columbus Circle and the recent repositioning of Manhattan Mall with tenants like Interpublic Companies and Bank of America.
It is expected that Steir would continue to have a strong hand in the brokerage side. Colaccino would become president, and Jaccom would have a major national role that is yet to be defined.
A spokesman for the firm declined comment. The tenant rep firm was founded 48 years ago by Studley and has grown to employ 400 brokers in 15 key U.S. markets.
Studley himself is known as a soft-spoken, Jerry Garcia-like bearded father figure who collects eclectic art and hosts a yearly fiddle contest and company picnic each fall at his New Paltz barn.
The firm was one of the first brokerages to pursue high-tech real estate solutions, a situation that was prompted when a young broker showed Studley how an early street mapping program he paid for himself could quickly pinpoint the barn.
Several years ago, Studley surprised New Yorkers at the firm by bringing in Chicago-based Jacque Ducharme as president.
But he never had the power to back up decisions and failed to infiltrate the Manhattan high producers operational clique.