Blackstone to Acquire Madison Dearborn's Remaining Stake to Become Sole Institutional Investor Supporting AIR's Next Phase of Growth
Air Control Concepts ("AIR"), the largest commercial HVAC, electrical, and controls platform in North America, announced today that funds managed by Blackstone's private equity strategy for individual investors ("Blackstone") have signed and closed the acquisition of Madison Dearborn Partners' ("MDP") remaining equity stake in AIR, following Blackstone's original investment in July 2024. Founder, President and CEO of AIR, Brad Hobbs, and his family will also invest alongside Blackstone. With this transaction, Blackstone becomes AIR's sole institutional investor, deepening its partnership with AIR's management and positioning the company for its next phase of growth.
Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, AIR operates across 35 states and Canada through a network of more than 38 operating companies and over 1,900 associates. The platform supports leading OEM partners and their customers by combining deep local market expertise with the scale, resources, and connectivity of a national organization. AIR's operating model is designed to preserve the entrepreneurial culture and trusted relationships of each operating company while enabling collaboration, shared services, and long-term growth.
Brad Hobbs, Founder, President and CEO, and Hayden Bland, COO of AIR said:
"Blackstone has been a fantastic partner since joining us in 2024. Their strategic insights and resources have helped AIR continue to scale rapidly while strengthening our commitment to excellence on behalf of our OEM partners and customers. As we look to the future – including our further expansion, the substantial opportunity in data centers and exciting adjacency strategies – we are thrilled to deepen our partnership. We thank the MDP team for their collaboration and support in helping build the AIR platform into what it is today."
Seth Meisel, Senior Managing Director, and Karl Eber, Managing Director, at Blackstone, stated:
"We thank MDP for a terrific partnership, and we are thrilled to support Brad, Hayden and the entire AIR leadership team to help drive the company's continued success. The 18 months since our original investment have seen tremendous growth and we are excited to help perpetuate that going forward. We believe AIR is exceptionally well positioned to continue delivering leading solutions for its customers and OEM partners as the platform continues to scale."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Centerview Partners served as lead financial advisor to Blackstone, and RBC Capital Markets, LLC also served as financial advisor to Blackstone. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to AIR and MDP. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to Blackstone.
About AIR Control Concepts
AIR Control Concepts ("AIR") is a leading commercial HVAC, electrical, and controls platform operating across 35 states and Canada. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, AIR partners with and supports a network of operating companies by providing shared resources, technology, and strategic support while preserving the local culture, leadership, and customer relationships that define each business. Through its collaborative platform model, AIR enables long-term growth and scalable solutions for OEM partners and the customers they serve. More information is available at www.aircontrolconcepts.com.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone's over $1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
About Madison Dearborn Partners
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since its formation in 1992, the firm has invested $27 billion and completed 168 platform investments across its dedicated industry verticals. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.
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For Blackstone:
Hallie Dewey
Hallie.dewey@blackstone.com
For AIR:
Kelly Duffy
Kduffy@aircontrolconcepts.com