Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Legence, a Blackstone-backed consultant for construction projects and commercial real estate, acquired two companies: Provident, a Pennsylvania-based energy project management company, and McCracken-Woodman, a California-based plumbing design firm.
Why it matters: Legence (f.k.a Therma Holdings) wants to be a comprehensive firm for commercial real estate customers retrofitting old buildings to become more energy efficient or those building net-zero projects. CEO Jeffrey Sprau tells Axios that it is an "active" buyer with more deals imminent.
Context: Blackstone purchased Legence as Therma Holdings in November 2020 for an undisclosed amount. Sprau says it currently generates more than $1 billion in revenue and has roughly 3,600 employees.
What they're saying: "We buy successful companies, they won't be bargain-basement sticker prices," Sprau says, arguing that the market downturn isn't really impacting Legence's M&A activity.