Legence Acquires New York City-Based AMA Group for Strategic Partnership with CMTA to Deliver New Technology and Engineering Services Nationwide

News

Legence Acquires New York City-Based AMA Group for Strategic Partnership with CMTA to Deliver New Technology and Engineering Services Nationwide

2024-08-15 20:30 Last Updated At：20:41

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2024--

Legence, a Blackstone Portfolio Company and North America's leading integrated provider of energy efficiency and sustainability solutions for the built environment, today announced the acquisition of AMA Group, a New York City-based national engineering services firm. Over the next several months, AMA will integrate into CMTA, Legence’s largest mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering services portfolio company. This deal marks Legence's first acquisition in New York City, a priority market with a growing focus on building decarbonization.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240815809120/en/

“By championing building efficiency today, we are dramatically improving the possibilities of a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow. CMTA and AMA Group are leaders in their respective fields, and joining the firms will further establish Legence as a trusted partner in built environment decarbonization,” said Jeff Sprau, CEO of Legence. “We’re always seeking partners with aligned talents and values. The synergies between AMA and CMTA – and the synergies this new team brings to Legence – will provide best-in-class services to customers seeking the most efficient solutions for their facilities.”

The acquisition will expand Legence’s footprint into New York City, enabling the company to better support building owners and operators in meeting the stringent energy reduction mandates of Local Laws 87 and 97. In addition to expanding Legence and CMTA’s MEP and technology engineering capabilities, AMA brings new expertise in acoustic, lighting, and immersive audio-visual design.

Founded in 2000, AMA Group is a 250-person firm with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Madison, NJ. The company is committed to providing innovative engineering services and has completed numerous large-scale educational, residential, and commercial projects. It has extensive expertise in the design and construction management of media and production facilities nationwide, including marquee headquarters projects for NFL Media in Inglewood, NBCU Sports in Stamford, Telemundo in Miami, WWE in Stamford, Univision in Miami, Brokaw News Center in Los Angeles, and Discovery CNN HBO in NYC.

CMTA is a multi-service practice, offering a wide range of expertise to guide clients through energy-efficient, sustainable projects. Known for delivering high-performance buildings with a focus on decarbonization and occupant health and wellness, CMTA provides MEP and technology engineering, along with performance contracting, which has led to numerous zero energy and zero carbon projects.

“By adding AMA Group to our family, we gain exceptional engineering talent and a strong experienced leadership team with a reputation for excellence in the New York City market where decarbonization policies create a great opportunity for CMTA and Legence. We could not hope for a better partner,” said Jimmy Benson, CEO of CMTA.

“We could not be more excited to partner with such sophisticated entities as CMTA, Legence, and Blackstone. This partnership will allow us to elevate the organization to the next level, providing incredible growth and prosperity for our entire staff,” said Arthur Metzler, Founder of AMA Group.

AEC Advisors, through its registered broker-dealer affiliate AEC Transaction Services LLC, was the exclusive financial advisor to AMA Consulting.

About Legence

As an Energy Transition Accelerator™, Legence transforms buildings to pave the way for a sustainable future — faster. Legence is North America’s leading, integrated provider of energy efficiency and sustainability solutions for the built environment. Legence improves the performance of buildings, making the spaces that shape our lives healthier and more sustainable. We specialize in helping clients decrease operating costs, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance occupant well-being and productivity. From advisory services and design to construction and ongoing maintenance, we offer a comprehensive suite of Stackable Solutions™ across the entire building lifecycle. With over a century of experience, we have the expertise to implement high-performing projects with unmatched outcomes, serving industry leaders in mission-critical and essential sectors such as data centers, semiconductors, life sciences, healthcare, education, and more. To learn more about Legence and its services, visit www.wearelegence.com.

About CMTA

CMTA, a Legence company, headquartered in Louisville, KY is a multi-service practice founded in 1968 with 43 offices and 1,000 employees nationally. Focused on mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and technology engineering, performance contracting and zero energy/zero carbon solutions, CMTA delivers decarbonization and occupant health and wellness through energy efficient, sustainable projects. It is a national leader for geo-exchange and geothermal solutions across a variety of markets, including healthcare, K-12, higher education, federal and local government and commercial real estate. www.cmta.com

About AMA Group

Founded in New York City in 2000, AMA Group provides mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), technology, lighting and acoustical engineering as well as construction management services. Participating in a wide variety of projects across the commercial, residential and educational sectors AMA is considered an industry leader in the design of media, broadcast and production facilities, including sound stage campuses, having a portfolio of over 1,000 such completed projects worldwide. www.amagroupusa.com.

Pope lands in economic power Singapore after a joyous visit to impoverished, devout East Timor

2024-09-11 15:37 Last Updated At：15:41

SINGAPORE (AP) — Pope Francis flew to Singapore on Wednesday for the final leg of his trip through Asia, arriving in one of the world’s richest countries from one of its poorest after a record-setting final Mass in East Timor.

After a brief farewell ceremony, Francis, the Vatican delegation and journalists traveling with him flew to Singapore aboard local carrier Aero Dili's only aircraft, an Airbus A320. It landed about three hours later in Singapore, where Francis had no public events scheduled for the rest of the day.

Francis wrapped up his visit to East Timor with a rally Wednesday morning of its young people, who make up the majority of the 1.3 million population. He urged them to work together to build their young country, using the foundations of older generations who formally secured their independence from Indonesia in 2002, to grow in peace, prosperity and reconciliation.

“Go forward with the happiness of youth, but don’t forget one thing,” Francis told them. “You are the heirs of those who persevered in founding this nation. For this, don’t lose your memory, the memory of those who persevered with so much sacrifice to consolidate this nation.”

The 87-year-old pope, who is on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate, ditched his prepared remarks to speak off the cuff in his native Spanish, as he often does when he's around young people.

The joyous encounter came just hours after around 600,000 people — or nearly half the population — packed a seaside park for Francis’ Mass. It was held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago, when East Timor was under brutally oppressive Indonesian rule.

Francis came to East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, to encourage it more than two decades after it secured independence as it struggles with poverty and high unemployment.

In his final remarks at the end of the liturgy, Francis warned the Timorese today to beware of the “crocodiles” who come ashore and “want to change your culture, your history.”

It was an apparent reference both to East Timor’s past, as a colonial possession of first Portugal and then Indonesia, but also its current attractiveness to international commercial interests eager to develop its natural gas reserves.

The oil and gas industry is the bedrock of the Timorese economy and the main source of government revenue. Development of the promising offshore Greater Sunrise gas field, shared between Australia and East Timor, has been stalled for more than two decades — mainly over the question of which country the fuel should be piped to.

Timorese officials believe that piping gas into their country would deliver more benefits for their people despite the added logistical challenges. In an interview last week, President Jose Ramos-Horta said any alternative would have to be “a very persuasive proposal.”

Francis, who is from Argentina and is history’s first Latin American pope, has long railed against multinational companies that exploit poor countries for their natural resources for their own benefit without taking care to adequately compensate the local population or care for the environment.

“And don’t go near those crocodiles because they bite, and bite a lot, a lot,” Francis said Tuesday night, using a term in Spanish that means both “to bite” and to accept bribes.

The huge turnout in East Timor was a testament to the devout Catholic faith of its people and their reverence of the church, which strongly backed the Timorese’ fight for independence. Francis praised the Timorese for having not only built up their country from scratch, but reconciled with Indonesia after securing independence in 2002.

One of the Timorese who campaigned for that independence, Fransisco Dionisio Fernandes, was a 15-year-old acolyte at the Dili Mass celebrated by St. John Paul II on the same field as Francis.

He went on to become one of the most vocal pro-independence activists in East Timor, known locally by his nom de guerre Maukura. But he chose the path of nonviolent resistance rather than joining the guerrillas, preaching a message of reconciliation with Indonesia that Francis underscored during his visit.

“What’s past is past, every nation certainly has its dark history, and we cannot erase history,” Fernandes said in an interview. “East Timor has made a great effort to reconcile the wounds of the past and found a way to pursue a process of genuine reconciliation.”

Fernandes, who became a career diplomat, said the focus was now on the future.

“Now is the time for Timorese to fight for the development and people’s welfare. With the principle of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty, we rebuild together with Indonesia which is destined to be brothers.”

East Timor remains one of the poorest in the world, with around 42% living below the poverty line. It struggles with high levels of unemployment and malnutrition. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s citizens are under 30 years old, making youth job creation a high priority.

From Dili, Francis was flying to Singapore, one of Asia’s economic powerhouses. The city-state’s transformation from a colonial port lacking natural resources into an economic power since its independence from Malaysia in 1965 has long been touted as a success story.

It enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world, and is known for its safety and low crime rate. But it is also one of the most expensive cities to live in and its competitive work environment makes for a stressful, overworked people.

Francis has no official program in Singapore on Wednesday other than a private meeting with his Jesuit confreres.

Niniek Karmini reported from Dili, East Timor. Eileen Ng contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.