B

BDT & MSD Partners

Strategic advisory and long-term capital provider

Overview

BDT & MSD Partners provides strategic advisory and long-term capital to family- and founder-led businesses. It helps with mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, ownership and governance, trust and estate planning, family office management, and philanthropy. The firm operates in private capital, credit, real estate, and growth equity markets, using its network and market expertise to offer differentiated capital and creative financing solutions. Revenue comes from advisory fees and returns on investments through affiliated funds. The goal is to be a flexible, long-term partner with aligned interests, supporting sustainable growth and social impact while helping clients navigate complex issues and build enduring value.

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About BDT & MSD Partners

Simplify's Rating
Why BDT & MSD Partners is rated
B
Rated A on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

ConsultingFinancial ServicesReal Estate

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$5.5B

Headquarters

Chicago, IL

Founded

2023

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Simplify's take

What believers are saying

  • The September 30, 2026 ElevenLabs investment proves momentum in AI and software.
  • Crusoe’s September 3, 2026 $3.9 billion round expands access to high-growth infrastructure.
  • Sunrise’s October 2026 acquisition gives the firm a scaled platform in private-pay senior living.

What critics are saying

  • Technology pivot dilutes the firm’s old-line identity and strains sourcing credibility in 2027.
  • Sunrise Senior Living adds operational exposure in senior housing, a capital-intensive turnaround sector.
  • A concentrated key-man platform around Trott and Dell creates succession risk if deal flow slows.

What makes BDT & MSD Partners unique

  • BDT & MSD blends advisory, private capital, and balance-sheet underwriting across 2026.
  • Byron Trott’s network still opens founder-led deals like Sunrise Senior Living on October 6, 2026.
  • Darren Cohen’s July 2026 hiring expands technology access beyond legacy industrial families.

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Funding

Total Funding

$5.5B

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

0 Rounds

Benefits

  • Hybrid Work Options

Company News

Citybiz
Nov 12th, 2026
BDT & MSD Partners takes minority stake in HVAC group Ambient Enterprises

Ambient Enterprises, a national group of commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) firms, has agreed to a strategic minority investment from funds affiliated with BDT & MSD Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed. Management and employee owners will keep majority ownership and control. Chief executive officer Christopher Bisaccia will continue to lead the company. Ambient says the investment will fund hiring, technical capabilities, and expansion of its national footprint. It traces its roots to Gil-Bar, which co-founder and President Joe Sbarra started in Brooklyn, New York, in 1986. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Stockwatch
Nov 5th, 2026
Stockwatch

No Hype - just the Facts. Your complete source of news and realtime quotes from the TSX, TSX-V, CSE, CBoe Canada, Montreal, Nasdaq, NYSE, Amex, OTC Markets and Cboe.

LinkedIn
Sep 30th, 2026
We just closed an employee tender offer which values ElevenLabs at $22BN, up 2x from our Series D in February. The tender was led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price, and the growth is driven by demand… | Mati Staniszewski | 89 comments

We just closed an employee tender offer which values ElevenLabs at $22BN, up 2x from our Series D in February. The tender was led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price, and the growth is driven by demand from enterprises to deploy ElevenAgents across sales, support, and operations. In 2022, we raised our first round at a $9 million valuation, which we announced alongside Eleven v1, our first Text to Speech model, and the first model to generate human-level speech. Four years later, as we reach our new valuation, we just released two new state-of-the-art Text to Speech models. Eleven v4 and v4 Turbo are our fastest and most emotive models yet, and are leading independent benchmarks. Alongside models, we have built a full interaction platform for AI. It allows organizations to deploy conversational agents, connected to their knowledge and systems, that interact naturally in any industry, geography, or context. This shift is driving much of our growth, with enterprise now accounting for 55% of our revenue, as businesses adopt ElevenAgents to support their customers and employees. Our technology is now used in daily operations at five of the world’s ten largest tech companies, five of the ten largest insurers, and four of the ten largest telecoms. The round was co-led by Wellington Management and T. Rowe Price, along with participation from Goldman Sachs, GIC, Ontario Teachers'​ Pension Plan, EQT Group, Sapphire Ventures, and BDT & MSD Partners. And grateful for ongoing support from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Alkeon Capital, The D. E. Shaw Group, Disruptive, Evantic Capital, ICONIQ, and Lightspeed. Most of all, this round is for the team that built the last four years. We're just getting started! | 89 comments on LinkedIn

Semafor
Jul 27th, 2026
BDT & MSD Partners hires Goldman's Darren Cohen to lead new tech fund

BDT & MSD Partners, which manages much of Michael Dell's fortune, has hired Goldman Sachs partner Darren Cohen to lead tech investments and raise a new fund. Cohen oversaw Goldman's investments in Anthropic and Databricks during his 23-year tenure. The move marks a shift for the merchant bank, which historically served old-line industrial families and avoided tech exposure. BDT & MSD raised an $832 million tech fund last year, taking stakes in OpenAI, Waymo, Helsing, Revolut, and Project Prometheus. Cohen will lead the tech business alongside Ryan Nolan and work with Juliet de Baubigny, who is being promoted to co-president. At Goldman, Christian Resch and Hillel Moerman will replace Cohen.

EU-Startups
Jul 15th, 2026
Daniel Ek’s Neko Health raises €612.7 million Series C as it prepares for US expansion | EU-Startups

Neko Health, the Stockholm-based HealthTech company, has today announced the completion of its €612.7 million ($700 million) Series C funding round, with

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