--- title: "HVAC M&A: PE's Favorite Trade Hits Record Deal Volume" description: "PE-backed HVAC platform deals hit a record 55 in 2024 (+72% YoY). Apex Service Partners closed a $3.4B continuation in 2025. Inside the most consolidated trade in home services." slug: "hvac-ma-2025" canonical: "https://mainstreetwealth.ai/resources/hvac-ma-2025" collection: "resources" collection_name: "M&A Resources & Insights" author: "Sukhrobjon Ismoilov" category: "market-trends" date_published: "2026-05-22T02:13:44.048Z" date_modified: "2026-05-22T02:13:45.306Z" token_estimate: 2233 source: "https://mainstreetwealth.ai/resources/hvac-ma-2025.md" --- # HVAC M&A: PE's Favorite Trade Hits Record Deal Volume > PE-backed HVAC platform deals hit a record 55 in 2024 (+72% YoY). Apex Service Partners closed a $3.4B continuation in 2025. Inside the most consolidated trade in home services. **Author:** Sukhrobjon Ismoilov **Published:** 2026-05-22 **Updated:** 2026-05-22 **Canonical:** https://mainstreetwealth.ai/resources/hvac-ma-2025 ![HVAC M&A: PE's Favorite Trade](https://mainstreetwealth.ai/home-services-infographics/02-hvac-ma.svg) *Figure 2 — Private equity HVAC platform deals reached a record 55 in 2024, a 72% jump over 2023, according to PitchBook's Q2 2025 HVAC analyst note. CapIQ tracked 60 announced or completed deals in just the first half of 2025, on pace to exceed the prior year. Median residential HVAC EBITDA multiples sit at 9.2x, with the top decile reaching 10.8x.* # HVAC M&A: PE's Favorite Trade Hits Record Deal Volume Of every home services trade, HVAC has attracted the most concentrated private equity attention — and 2024 made the headline obvious. PitchBook's Q2 2025 analyst note recorded **55 PE platform deals in HVAC in 2024**, a **72% year-over-year increase** and a category record. CapIQ then tracked 60 announced or completed HVAC deals in just the first half of 2025 (Forbes Partners, H1 2025 update). The market hasn't slowed. For owners thinking through an exit, our [HVAC industry page](https://mainstreetwealth.ai/industries/hvac) lays out the seller-side context. This infographic unpacks why the activity is happening and what it means for valuations. ## The deal velocity story Three datapoints frame the scale of HVAC consolidation: - **2024 record**: 55 PE platform deals, +72% YoY (PitchBook) - **H1 2025 pace**: 60 announced or completed deals (CapIQ via Forbes Partners) - **2024 baseline**: 138 total deals tracked across all of 2024 The 138 figure includes platform-to-platform M&A and add-ons, not just new platform formations. The breadth matters: HVAC isn't just about one or two big roll-ups — it's about a dozen or more PE-backed platforms each running parallel acquisition pipelines into the same fragmented mid-market. ## Apex Service Partners: the marquee story The single most important HVAC deal of 2025 was structural rather than transactional: **Alpine Investors closed a $3.4 billion single-asset continuation transaction for Apex Service Partners** in May 2025, with Alpine's Fund IX investing $450 million alongside the continuation fund. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Tampa, Apex is now the largest residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services platform in the country, partnering with leading providers across U.S. markets. Three things make Apex significant: 1. **Scale validation**: A $3.4B valuation on a six-year-old platform tells you what institutional money believes about HVAC roll-ups at scale. 2. **Continuation structure**: The continuation fund vehicle allows Alpine to keep running the platform past a typical exit window, signaling conviction that more value is unlocked through additional acquisitions. 3. **PitchBook funding total**: Apex has raised $8.06 billion across all rounds (PitchBook), making it one of the largest service-trade roll-ups on record. Apex isn't alone. **Wrench Group** (Leonard Green-backed) operates national HVAC and plumbing across Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and the LA metro. **Service Experts** (Lennox subsidiary) runs another large residential HVAC/plumbing network. **Orion Group** (Alpine's commercial sister platform) targets commercial HVAC. Each runs its own pipeline. ## HVAC EBITDA multiples in 2025 First Page Sage compiled valuation multiples from four private M&A databases plus advisor interviews for transactions Q3 2022 through Q1 2025. The residential HVAC ranges: - **Heating-only**: 6.1x – 9.6x EBITDA (median 8.0x) - **Cooling-only**: 6.2x – 9.3x (median 7.9x) - **All-purpose residential**: 6.3x – 10.8x (median **9.2x**) The all-purpose median of 9.2x is the practical benchmark for most family-owned HVAC businesses generating $1M–$5M of EBITDA. Below that range, the spread narrows: BizBuySell's tracked HVAC sales (smaller, often $500K–$2M total) show a **median sale price of $800K in 2025, up 23% from $650K in 2021**. The gap between the BizBuySell median ($800K business price) and First Page Sage median (9.2x EBITDA × $5M = $46M) reflects the bimodal nature of HVAC M&A. Smaller, owner-operator businesses transact at lower multiples to local strategics or first-time buyers. Mid-market businesses with $2M+ EBITDA, recurring service contracts, and density attract PE platforms at materially higher multiples. ## Why HVAC fits the PE playbook so well Five characteristics make residential HVAC a near-ideal roll-up target: **1. Replacement is non-discretionary.** When a system fails in summer or winter, the homeowner replaces it. Demand isn't tied to consumer confidence the way discretionary remodeling is. **2. Maintenance contracts are sticky.** A "club membership" or annual maintenance plan attaches the customer for 5–10 years and creates predictable recurring revenue. The better operators run 30–50% of revenue through these programs. **3. Heat-pump tailwinds.** Inflation Reduction Act incentives and the broader electrification thesis drive replacement and upgrade activity beyond the simple aging-fleet baseline. **4. Density + branch model**: HVAC techs travel within a 30-mile radius. A second branch in a metro pays back faster than the first. Roll-ups buy adjacent operators and run them on shared dispatch and call centers. **5. Wage uplift is real**: Alpine reports an average **20% first-year pay increase** for technicians at Apex acquisitions (Investment Council, October 2024). Higher wages help recruit in a tight labor market — the central operating constraint in HVAC. ## What this means for HVAC sellers For owners thinking about a sale in 2026: 1. **Recurring revenue is the single biggest valuation lever.** A business with 40% of revenue under maintenance contracts often commands a 2–3x EBITDA premium versus an otherwise identical break-fix shop. 2. **Geographic density compounds value.** Multiple branches within one metro are worth more than scattered branches across three states, because they're a more attractive bolt-on for a regional PE platform. 3. **Service mix matters.** Pure residential transacts cleanest. Mixed res/commercial businesses can still attract premium buyers but typically narrower lists. 4. **Plumbing and electrical attach**: HVAC platforms increasingly want plumbing or electrical service attached. If you've already built one of those legs, mark it as a value driver. For an explicit sell-side process and platform context, our [HVAC industry page](https://mainstreetwealth.ai/industries/hvac) walks through the typical deal architecture. Adjacent trades are covered at our [plumbing industry page](https://mainstreetwealth.ai/industries/plumbing) and [other home services page](https://mainstreetwealth.ai/industries/other). ## Bottom line HVAC is the most consolidated of the home services trades and the deepest in institutional capital. With 55 platform deals in 2024 and 60 already done in H1 2025, the activity isn't slowing. Apex's $3.4B continuation, Wrench's national footprint, and Blackstone's February 2026 platform announcement all point to sustained roll-up demand through at least 2027. For owners with $1M+ of EBITDA and recurring service revenue, this is the strongest seller's market in HVAC history. --- ## Sources 1. PitchBook, ["Q2 2025 Analyst Note: Clearing the Air on HVAC"](https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q2-2025-pitchbook-analyst-note-clearing-the-air-on-hvac) (June 2025) 2. Forbes Partners, ["Heating and Cooling the Market: M&A Opportunities in Commercial HVAC"](https://forbes-partners.com/heating-and-cooling-the-market-ma-opportunities-in-commercial-hvac/) (October 2025) 3. Kroll, ["M&A in the Residential HVAC Services Industry"](https://www.kroll.com/en-us/publications/ma-residential-hvac-services-industry) (2025) 4. First Page Sage, ["HVAC EBITDA & Valuation Multiples 2025 Report"](https://firstpagesage.com/business/hvac-ebitda-valuation-multiples/) 5. BizBuySell, ["HVAC Business Valuation Multiples & Financial Benchmarks"](https://www.bizbuysell.com/learning-center/valuation-benchmarks/hvac/) 6. Alpine Investors, ["Alpine Closes $3.4B Single-Asset Continuation Transaction for Apex Service Partners"](https://alpineinvestors.com/update/single-asset-continuation-transaction-apex-service-partners/) (May 2025) 7. Alpine Investors, ["Alpine Launches Orion Group"](https://alpineinvestors.com/update/alpine-launches-orion-group/) (commercial HVAC platform) 8. American Investment Council, ["WSJ on PE Transforming Plumbing and HVAC Small Businesses"](https://www.investmentcouncil.org/icymi-wsj-highlights-how-private-equity-transforms-plumbing-and-hvac-small-businesses-boosting-wages-and-growth/) 9. PitchBook, [Apex Service Partners Company Profile](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/277513-30) ($8.06B raised)