Lazard is advising GE Real Estate in France, the property arm of General Electric, on a €1.5bn ($1.76bn) offer for French property group, Sophia. Lazard's team is lead by partner Yan Perchet, who has worked with GE before.
GE's offer, which values Sophia at €41-a-share, went before the Sophia board for consideration on Monday. Last month, Sophia received a €1.4bn offer from Société Fonciere Lyonnaise (SFL), a French real estate firm.