Blackstone Subsidiary Legence Acquiring Engineering Firm AMA Group
Legence will merge AMA with green construction firm CMTA
By Mark Hallum August 14, 2024 11:54 am
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A subsidiary of Blackstone (BX) acquired New York-based engineering firm AMA Group and will merge the 250-person outfit with another company, Commercial Observer has learned.
Now that Legence has taken control of the company, AMA Group will be merged into the green construction firm CMTA — which Blackstone acquired in 2020 — bringing CMTA’s entire headcount to 1,300 employees, according to Legence CEO Jeff Sprau.
Legence would not provide the acquisition price for AMA, but Sprau said it chose to pick up the company to expand its client base, particularly in New York City where Kentucky-based CMTA’s coverage is light.
“Our goal in life is to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of buildings and specifically help them decarbonize, and whenever we find an organization with that in their DNA or part of their culture, that’s really, really interesting to us,” Sprau said. “We’ve always coveted the New York City region because of the gigantic install base from a buildings perspective.”
CMTA does not have an office in New York City, despite having 42 nationwide, so the AMA headquarters at 825 Eighth Avenue will continue to serve as its base until it begins plans to grow, which Sprau did not elaborate upon.
It’s not just New York CMTA will get a boost in with the merger, as AMA also has offices in Los Angeles, Miami and Madison, N.J.
Some opportunities in the five boroughs that Legence sees are through Local Law 87, which requires building owners to submit energy audits and retro-commissioning reports to the city every 10 years, and Local Law 97, which requires that buildings over 25,000 square feet reduce emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.
Legence and CMTA were acquired by Blackstone in late 2020, and Legence has been on its own acquisition spree since.
In May, Legence acquired Corporate Sustainability Strategies, a Huntington Beach, Calif.-based commercial real estate sustainability consulting firm run by Brenna Walraven, and, in April, it bought P2S, which specializes in construction of buildings for higher education, government, health care and data centers.
Legence bought two other California engineering firms in early 2023, merging with MEP and Trinity Process Solutions.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
