Dear HVAC Business Owner,
As the summer winds down and politics heats up, a constant in the marketplace is the rapid pace of residential HVAC acquisitions. Our recap of all the recent acquisition news includes announcements of brand-new acquisition platforms and fast growth for existing platforms.
IEI Advisors is now tracking over 75 residential HVAC acquisition platforms which may help explain why you get so many calls and emails about selling your business. As overwhelming as that can be, it’s an indicator of a strong seller’s market. For owners considering an exit, you can expect to have multiple interested buyers and high valuations if you decide to sell.
Acquisition News (March 2024 to August 2024)
Our regional breakdown is full of activity with most of it taking place in the South and Northeast.
South
After selling Unique Indoor Comfort to Ace Hardware, private equity firm Grove Mountain Partners decided to get back in the HVAC business. It announced the launch of Service Country LCC and its initial acquisition of McGee Heating and Air (Hartwell, GA).
After purchasing a number of businesses in the south, Southeast Mechanical extended its reach down to Florida by purchasing Climate Design Home Services (Clearwater, FL). Since 2022, Southeast Mechanical has been owned by private equity firm, Palladin Consumer Retail Partners.
Southern Home Services, one of the larger private equity backed acquirers, recently purchased David Gray Electrical, Plumbing, Heating & Air (Jacksonville, FL) and Elite Electric, Plumbing & Air (Port St. Lucie, FL). Southern Home Services has been owned by Gryphon Investors since 2021.
The Masters Trade Group, formerly Len the Plumber and also formerly LTM Home Services, recently expanded into Florida by buying Freedom Air & Plumbing (Rockledge, FL near Melbourne). The Masters Trade Group is owned by private equity firm L Catterton.
Leap Partners acquired Air Care Heating and Cooling (Elizabethtown, KY). Air Care is the second business Leap has purchased in Elizabethtown.
Lunchpail Service Partners is a brand new acquisition platform that launch with its purchase of Artic Air (Palatka, FL).
Northeast
The Grasshopper Group announced the formation of its HVAC acquisitions platform with the purchase of Hummingbird Heating & Cooling (Syracuse, NY).
Private equity firm New Mountain Capital owns HomeX Services Group which announced the purchase of Deluxe Plumbing & Heating (Bethlehem, PA).
In April Sila Services, announced three acquisitions in Connecticut and New York. Then in July, they acquired Gary & Sons (Falls Creek, PA). And just this month, they also announced the purchase of Allied Experts (Cherry Hill, NJ). Sila Services is based in Philadelphia and owned by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners which is its third private equity owner.
Punctual Pros, which operates plumbing, electrical, and HVAC franchises in Central Pennsylvania, was bought by Broad Sky Partners.
Mid-West
Gamut Capital Management purchased Airtron Heating & Air Conditioning (Columbus, OH) from NRG Energy. Airton covers 13 metro areas in TX, OH, IN, NC, KY, and MD and Gamut is planning further growth through acquisition.
Redwood Services, which previously didn’t have a location in the upper Midwest, planted its flag in the twin cities with the purchase of Dean’s Home Services (Maple Grove, MN).
A Columbus, Ohio based investment firm, Timmerman Capital, acquired Franklin Heating, Cooling & Refrigeration which is also based in Columbus.
Mountain West
The Masters Trade Group expanded southwest with the purchase of Stan’s Home Services and Wagner Mechanical in Austin, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
West Coast
There has been significant acquisition activity in this market in the past but none in the last six months that IEI Advisors is aware of.
IEI Advisors Updates
With all the M&A activity, IEI Advisors continues to support and educate owners on the exit opportunity by writing blogs and sharing the best relevant articles.
HVAC industry publications have not always done a great job of covering the acquisition trend. In some cases, the articles have been negativity hit jobs. So we were excited to read an educational and balanced article by Kyle Gargaro at ACHR News. Kyle gives owners a good overview of the private equity interest in the industry and some important things to understand when selling to them.
Our latest blog covers an important question for owners selling their business. As with any sale process, a well-informed pricing strategy is key. We breakdown the two prevalent pricing strategies to point owners in the right direction.
In July, we updated our commercial and residential HVAC consolidation trackers. The trackers help owners visualize the trend of buyers entering the HVAC acquisition business.
That’s all for our round-up of HVAC M&A news and IEI Advisor updates. You can respond to this email with any questions or to request a complimentary HVAC business valuation.
Sincerely,
Your HVAC M&A Team at IEI Advisors