When private equity (PE) professionals look at HVAC contractors, they see a field ripe for consolidation. There are thousands of independent firms operating across the nation — strong companies that PE professionals believe would benefit from the resources of a regional or even national presence. They also see a business segment valued at around $20 billion that is fairly recession resistant. As a result, there are several HVAC firms growing today by acquiring established HVAC contractors using money from private equity firms.
Alpine Investors, a middle-market private equity firm, recently launched a new platform for HVAC contractors called Apex Service Partners. The goal is to partner with service providers to build a national platform. Alpine Principal Daniel Cohen said the platform matches the contractors’ established performance with Alpine’s access to capital.