Who buys HVAC companies my size?

If you are asking who buys HVAC companies, the short answer is: mostly people, not funds. At Main Street size, the IBBA's Q4 2025 survey of business brokers found first-time buyers made 46% and serial entrepreneurs 32% of acquisitions. In the lower middle market, individuals still made 44% and private equity about one fifth. The letters and calls from private equity are real, but Fulkerson Advisors counted 31 PE-backed groups and 571 local companies and found they run about 0.9% of US HVAC and plumbing contractor locations, or 1.3% once you add public and other multi-site groups. Most owners will sell to someone other than a platform.

PE is busy, though. Capstone Partners counted 92 HVAC services deals in 2026 through July, and 47 of them were by private equity (38 add-ons to existing platforms and 9 new platforms), as relayed by Salt Creek Advisory. So the buyer who fits you depends mostly on your size and how much the business needs you.

Which buyers look at a company your size

Size is the first filter every buyer uses. Here is what the published sources say:

A few more numbers help set expectations. BizBuySell's HVAC sold deals from 2021 to 2025 had a median price of 2.58x seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), and in 2025 alone 123 HVAC sales were reported to BizBuySell, with a median revenue of $1.27M. On Axial, HVAC companies in market range from $985K to $150M in revenue (median $4.7M), and closed deals ran from $500K to $11M of EBITDA. PKF O'Connor Davies reports that HVAC services businesses with $0.5M to $5M of EBITDA have traded at healthy multiples, while many middle-market investors see $10M or more of EBITDA as the size that earns a much higher multiple.

What this means for you: a $2M shop where you still sell most replacements will mostly hear from individuals and local competitors. A $10M shop with a service manager, an install manager and $1.2M of EBITDA can expect PE add-on interest too.

Every kind of buyer, side by side

No buyer is right for everyone. This table is a neutral comparison; the deal terms are typical patterns, not promises.

Some of these come straight from the sources. Next Era Legal notes that individual buyers expect to replace the owner but need a long handover and seller financing. Leap Partners says its offers can include money up front and substantial earnouts. Redwood Services says owners retain equity. Raincatcher says PE favors residential service and replacement over new construction. For the employee and family paths, read selling to employees and selling to family. For all seven exit paths compared, see exit options.

Active platforms we track

These are PE-backed groups that buy HVAC companies (most also buy plumbing and electrical). Facts are as stated on the cited pages. Locations come from Fulkerson's count unless noted.

Backers and location counts for TurnPoint, Heartland, Redwood, Legacy, Leap and Service Experts are from Fulkerson Advisors. Southern Home Services' backer is from Salt Creek Advisory. Apex also closed a $3.4B continuation fund with Alpine.

What they say they want, in their own words on those pages:

• Redwood: 100% residential, non-new-construction HVAC, plumbing and electrical.
• TurnPoint: residential and light commercial maintenance, repair and replacement, with strong leadership, brand and financial track record.
• Wrench: market-leading local brands with trusted reputations.
• Sila: HVAC, plumbing and electrical, with key talent kept on.
• Heartland: strong leadership teams and cultures.
• Leap: a 45-day process.
• Southern Home Services: owner-friendly deals that keep local brands.

Apex courts shops from 1 to 50+ trucks. A listing here is not an endorsement, and a platform buying in your state does not mean it wants your company.

Should you answer that letter?

Usually it costs nothing to listen, and it costs a lot to sign something early. A letter or call means a platform or its add-on team is building a list in your area. It is not an offer. Some owners say PE emails are a waste of time because buyers dig deep and rarely buy. Before you reply, know your numbers, your earnings basis and what you want after the sale (stay, leave, keep some ownership). Then you can ask good questions and say "not now" without guessing. Our guide on answering private equity outreach walks through what a first call, an indication of interest and a letter of intent look like. If you want a starting number first, the free HVAC estimate takes about 5 minutes.

What happens to your people and customers

This is the question owners lose sleep over. In one HVAC owner thread, replies asked whether a PE buyer would raise system prices and push techs to sell more every month. TurnPoint's seller page takes on those horror stories directly. We did not find published data on what happens to prices or tech pay after a PE purchase, so we will not guess.

What the sources do say about each buyer:

• PE platforms and add-ons often keep the local brand, add customer financing in the first 100 days, centralize call handling, and cross-sell plumbing and electrical to your customers, according to Raincatcher. Ask what changes for your techs: pay plans, benefits and sales targets.
• Individual buyers usually keep everything as it is, at least at first, and need you around to hand over customers and staff.
• Local competitors may merge your crews and office into theirs, so ask early what happens to your office staff.
• Employees and family keep the culture, but only if the price and the license plan work.

Whatever the buyer, put your people terms in writing: who stays, retention bonuses tied to the sale, and written pay plans. Buyers worry most when they cannot tell if your techs will stay, so this protects your price too.

Sources

1. PR Newswire, IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q4 2025
2. Fulkerson Advisors, Private Equity in HVAC and Plumbing: 0.9% of Contractors
3. Salt Creek Advisory, Who Buys HVAC Companies in 2026
4. BizBuySell, HVAC Business Valuation Multiples and Financial Benchmarks
5. Forefront Business Advisors, HVAC Businesses (BizBuySell FY2025 tables)
6. Axial, HVAC M&A Activity and Market Trends
7. PKF O'Connor Davies, US HVAC M&A Industry Update, Summer 2025
8. Raincatcher, Private Equity in HVAC
9. TREP Advisors, Is Your HVAC Business Ready for Private Equity
10. Next Era Legal, Selling Your HVAC Business
11. Business Wire, Apex Service Partners and Alpine Investors, Apollo minority investment
12. Alpine Investors, $3.4B continuation transaction for Apex Service Partners
13. Apex Service Partners, Partner With Us
14. Wrench Group, Brands
15. Sila Services
16. TurnPoint Services, Grow Your Business
17. Heartland Home Services, Business Owners
18. Redwood Services
19. Legacy Service Partners
20. Leap Partners, Our Process
21. Southern Home Services, One Company. One Team.
22. Reddit r/ProHVACR, Should I sell the business?
23. Reddit r/private_equity, Emails from PE: A Waste of Time?