New York City, November 12th – Ambient Enterprises (“Ambient”), a national collective of commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) design and implementation experts, today announced that funds affiliated with BDT & MSD Partners have entered into a definitive agreement to make a strategic minority investment in the company. Ambient’s management team and employee owners will retain majority ownership and control, with longtime CEO Christopher Bisaccia continuing to lead the company.
The investment will support Ambient’s next phase of growth, creating new opportunities for its employees and strengthening its ability to serve customers and original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) partners. With BDT & MSD’s support, Ambient will continue investing in its people, expanding its technical capabilities and growing its national footprint to support customers across the full HVAC lifecycle.
“We’re excited to work with BDT & MSD as we enter this next chapter for Ambient,” said Bisaccia. “This partnership positions us well for continued growth while creating new opportunities for our people and the future leaders of our organization. Most importantly, it allows us to keep building on what made Ambient successful while continuing to support our customers, OEM partners and local businesses.”
“We were extremely thoughtful in identifying the right investment partner for Ambient, not only for where we are today, but for where we’re headed,” said co-founder and President, Joe Sbarra. “BDT & MSD understands entrepreneurial businesses like ours and the importance of the relationships, people and culture that drove our success. We’re confident their partnership will help us grow our business and advance our mission.”
“Chris, Joe and their fellow owners have built Ambient with a long-term perspective, investing in their people and developing lasting relationships with customers and manufacturers,” said Chris Bertrand, Partner at BDT & MSD. “We share that perspective, which is central to our flagship strategy of providing patient, aligned capital to exceptional closely held businesses. We look forward to investing alongside them and supporting Ambient’s continued growth.”
Ambient traces its roots to Gil-Bar, which Sbarra co-founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1986. Building on that foundation, Ambient was established to bring together like-minded HVAC businesses around a shared commitment to exceptional customer service. The company has since grown its national footprint while preserving the local identities, regional market knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit of its businesses. Together, these businesses provide the expertise and capabilities to serve customers from coast to coast and across the full HVAC lifecycle.
The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
About Ambient Enterprises
Ambient Enterprises is a national collective of HVAC design and implementation experts delivering high-performance systems for healthcare, commercial, institutional, and mission-critical environments. Ambient combines regional market insight with national technical resources to ensure systems that perform reliably for the life of the building.
About BDT & MSD Partners
BDT & MSD Partners is a merchant bank with an advisory and investment platform built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors. The firm is distinguished by its decades of experience advising at the intersection of founders, families, and businesses, as well as by its differentiated capital base and culture of aligned investing. BDT & MSD was established in 2023 through the combination of BDT & Company, the merchant bank to the closely held, founded in 2009 by Byron Trott, and MSD Partners, a premier investment firm, led by Gregg Lemkau, that since 2009 had invested on behalf of Dell Technologies Founder Michael Dell, his family, and other like-minded investors. Its funds are managed by its affiliated investment advisers.
Media Contacts
Ambient Enterprises
David Patrick Golden
T: (929) 351-2429
E: [email protected]
BDT & MSD Partners
Sara Evans / Matthew Glasser
T: (312) 529-6548 / (312) 385-2883
E: [email protected]