(Bloomberg) - Tyco International Ltd., the world's biggest maker of alarms and electronic connectors, hired Trammell Crow Co. to help it consolidate and sell as much as 44 million square feet of real estate in North America and the Caribbean.

Trammell will "seek to reduce and optimise" Tyco's properties, lower occupancy costs and consolidate facilities, the Dallas-based real estate company said in a statement.

Tyco is incorporated in Bermuda and run from West Windsor, New Jersey. Tyco, a conglomerate of hundreds of businesses, owned 69.5 million square feet of office, manufacturing, distribution and warehouse space as of September 2002 and leased 57 million more, according to the company's annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trammell, a commercial property manager and broker, oversees more than 500 million square feet of properties.

Shares of Tyco fell 25 cents to $21.75 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4:17 p.m. They have risen 27 percent this year. Trammell rose 25 cents to $13.40. The shares have risen 49 percent this year.