Contractor-owned platform preps for potential sale

Platform Partners, a group of residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contracting businesses, is preparing to explore a sale process, Homepros has learned. 

The big picture: In 2022, Platform Partners was formed by several contractors, beginning with Wisconsin-based Capital Heating, Cooling, Electric, and Plumbing, without backing from a traditional private equity firm.

What’s happening: The company now counts just over 30 operating locations across the U.S., excluding tuck-in acquisitions, and will generate between $20 and $25 million of EBITDA on a “little over” $200 million in revenue this year, CEO Landon Brewer tells Homepros.

• Platform has sourced new partnerships primarily through its existing contractors’ networks and recently hired an investment bank to explore options, which could also include debt financing.
• (Brewer declined to disclose the investment bank, and representatives for six HVAC-focused investment banks didn’t return requests for comment.)

What they’re saying: “We’re getting to the point of scale now where it makes sense to go out and either do a debt raise or an equity deal,” Brewer says.

Why it matters: An equity deal would mark the fourth platform-level HVAC transaction this year, following Fix-It-Group and Redwood Services’ acquisitions in January and May, respectively, and Columbia Home Services and P1 Service Group’s merger, which was completed this summer. 

Looking ahead: Platform hasn’t yet formally launched a process, with no timeline set, and as is typical, there’s no guarantee that a deal materializes.