Acquisition adds audiovisual, IT/telecom, security, and acoustics design capabilities to Brightstar’s architecture and design portfolio, which includes KZF Design and Erdman

Brightstar Capital Partners (“Brightstar”), a middle-market private equity firm focused on control-oriented investments in business services, industrials, technology, media & telecom, and financial services companies, announced today that it has acquired BrightTree Studios (“BrightTree” or the “Company”), a technology design and consulting firm specializing in audiovisual, IT/telecom, security, and acoustics. BrightTree joins KZF Design and Erdman as part of Brightstar’s architecture and design platform.

Founded and headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, BrightTree provides technology design and consulting services to clients across higher education, healthcare, and corporate sectors. The firm focuses on transforming spaces into hubs of innovation, efficiency, and safety, and its addition to the platform enables cross-referral of technology design services across the platform’s existing client relationships.

“Great buildings today require more than great architecture. The technology that brings a space to life is just as important as the space itself,” said Dan Faust, CEO of Brightstar’s architecture and design platform. “We believe BrightTree’s capabilities will make us a more complete partner for clients across the platform by augmenting our existing capabilities, and we are excited to welcome their team.”

“We started BrightTree with a belief that technology, designed thoughtfully, has the power to unlock human potential in the spaces where people work, learn, and heal,” said Bill McIntosh, President and Co-Founder of BrightTree Studios. “Joining Brightstar’s platform gives us the resources and relationships to bring that vision to more clients and more projects than we could reach on our own.”

"We believe the firms that will define the next generation of architecture and design are those that can offer clients a seamless experience across disciplines,” said Michael Burke, Board Chair of Brightstar’s architecture and design platform and former Chairman and CEO of AECOM. “We are confident that bringing BrightTree into the platform creates a more integrated offering for clients and opens doors that would not otherwise be available to these firms on a standalone basis."

Brightstar’s architecture and design platform partners with regional firms, providing strategic backing, shared capabilities, and a collaborative operating model designed to preserve each firm’s culture while enabling growth.

About BrightTree Studios

BrightTree Studios is a Pennsylvania-based technology design and consulting firm specializing in audiovisual, IT/telecom, security, and acoustics. The firm partners with clients across higher education, healthcare, corporate, and other sectors to design technology environments that enhance collaboration, safety, and performance. For more information, please visit www.brighttreestudios.com.

About Brightstar Capital Partners

Brightstar Capital Partners is a middle-market private equity firm with $5bn AUM as of March 31, 2026, that is focused on control-oriented investments in business services, industrials, technology, media & telecom, and financial services companies. Brightstar combines hands-on operational value creation with the disciplined deployment of artificial intelligence to support execution, productivity, and decision-making across its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.brightstarcp.com.

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