Coldwell Banker eyeing area firms for acquisition. (Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group Inc.)

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Co., the second-largest residential broker in metropolitan St. Louis, is positioning itself to acquire numerous real estate agencies in the area, according to company officials.

Coldwell Banker, which specializes in real estate deals for executives who get transferred, is "very much in an acquisition mode," said Joe Riley, Coldwell Banker's St. Louis president.

The announcement comes at a time when the national firm itself is being purchased from Sears by the Fremont Group of San Francisco. That sale is to be finalized in July. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Riley said price or size of potential acquisitions is not an …