After LaSalle Partners' IPO in 1997, in 1999, it merged with Jones Lang Wootton to form Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as part of a $435 million deal.[18] [2][19] Jones Lang Wootton was a London auctioneer that originated in the 1700s.[9] By 1976, Jones Lang Wootton expanded into the United States real estate market in New York City.[20] The company had 4,000 employees in 33 countries around the time of the merger with LaSalle Partners.[21]