Why Am I Getting So Many Calls And Emails About Selling And What to Do About It?
- Peter Flippen
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 9 minutes ago
If you own an HVAC company and your phone has suddenly started ringing with “Just curious, have you ever thought about selling?”, you’re not imagining things.
A decade ago, most owners could go years without hearing from a private equity group, a another company in the industry, or an M&A advisor. Today, you probably feel like you’re getting contacted weekly (sometimes daily) by people who “love your story” and “want to learn more.” What changed?
The short answer is that capital flooded into private equity, which in turn poured into HVAC, and now both buyers and advisors are competing to get in front of you (usually long before you ever run a formal sale process).
Let’s unpack what’s really going on, why HVAC is such a magnet for acquirers right now, and what to do with all that attention.
The Growth Of Private Equity (And Why You’re On Their List)
Private equity (PE) isn’t new, but today’s scale is.
Over the last decade, PE has grown rapidly as an investment vehicle, which means there’s more money looking for a home, and that money has to be put to work. Many firms are sitting on capital with a timeline, meaning they’re under the gun to deploy it.
And as more capital flows into private equity, the target list expands. That’s where your business comes in.
Why Private Equity Likes “Essential Service” Businesses
If you’ve been in HVAC for any length of time, you already know one of the big reasons that PE is getting so heavily involved: this industry isn’t optional.
People don’t decide whether they’ll fix their HVAC system. They decide when and how painful it will be if they don’t.
That matters a great deal to investors who want industry demand that holds up even when the economy gets weird.
The Obsession With Recurring Revenue
If being an “essential service” is, well, essential, then recurring revenue is the dream of PE firms everywhere.
Private equity investors prefer businesses with less risk and more predictability, and recurring revenue means exactly that. Maintenance agreements, membership plans, service contracts, and repeat customer relationships show the stability that investors want and need.
From an investor’s perspective, recurring revenue businesses can be easier to forecast, easier to finance, and easier to scale, especially when paired with add-on acquisitions, all of which leads us to the big driver behind all those calls: consolidation.
Why HVAC Is Getting Swarmed: Platforms And The Consolidation Machine
The HVAC industry has been consolidating for years, but the pace has accelerated dramatically.
We tracked HVAC consolidation using two graphs, one for commercial HVAC and one for residential, and what they show is a significant jump in the number of active buyers, driven mostly by private equity.
On the commercial side, the number of private-equity-backed buyers grew from 3 in 2015 to 79 by 2025.
On the residential side, private-equity-backed buyers grew from 4 in 2015 to 74 by 2025.
Most, if not all, of those platforms have as a part of their acquisition strategy calling and emailing owners directly, rather than waiting for M&A advisors to bring them deals.
What Is A “Platform,” And Why Does It Matter?
A common PE strategy in HVAC is buying a larger contractor as a platform and then using that platform as a base to acquire additional companies (often called “add-ons”).
The “platform” is both a big company and an engine to power the whole process. It looks like this:
● It becomes the brand (or the holding company) that acquisitions roll into.
● It becomes the infrastructure (finance, HR, systems, reporting) that gets standardized.
● It becomes the deal machine, often with a dedicated acquisition team.
In plain English, PE firms often start with a platform investment and then grow it primarily through additional acquisitions before eventually exiting (often by selling to another PE firm).
Why Platforms Are Suddenly Calling You Directly
Here’s the part that surprises owners: many of these platforms aren’t waiting for deals to come to them. They’re actively searching for acquisitions.
A lot of HVAC businesses that are now PE-backed rarely made acquisitions historically. Then PE takes ownership and flips the growth model into acquisition mode. Now they need volume, and one of the fastest ways to build that volume is to pick up the phone and start calling owners.
The Other Reason You’re Getting Calls: Advisors And Investment Banks Follow The Money
Private equity activity doesn’t just attract more buyers. It attracts more intermediaries.
As PE firms focus on certain industries, M&A advisors and investment banks tend to follow.
Before 2020, there were relatively few advisors and banks focused heavily on HVAC. Today, many more firms have shifted attention to the space, because that’s where deals are happening.
And just like buyers, advisors don’t wait around hoping you’ll magically call them when you’re ready. They take a proactive approach because they know many owners sell only once, and they want to be the firm you remember when that day comes.
What Should You Do About All The Interest In Acquiring Your Business?
You could simply ignore it all. That’s the easy approach for an owner that knows they don’t want to sell or at least sell anytime soon.
If you’re an owner that is unsure of your exit plans and timeline, here are a few key questions you should think through before you consider starting a business sale process.
What are your financial goals? Consulting a financial advisor may help you think about how much money you need to receive from a sale to achieve your long-term financial goals.
Do you want to sell internally? A sale to a management team member or team can be a good outcome for owners if they have ambitious leaders on the team. In order to make this happen, an owner simply needs to be open to a below market value purchase price and also financing a good portion of the sale through a seller note.
If you prefer to sell externally, do you want to keep some chips on the table? Most sellers end up selling externally and the primary buyers in the market are private equity backed HVAC platforms. Most private equity buyers prefer that owners retain or rollover 10% to 30% of their equity and keep working for two to three years or more. They will paint you a picture of a significant upside to investing with them. It's riskier than asking for cash and potentially more rewarding. It's also a significantly longer time horizon to fully exiting your business.
What is the value of my business today or in the future? The consolidation of the industry will continue for quite some time. Some owners prefer to be patient knowing if they grow their business, they are growing their exit value. Other owners see an opportunity now to cash out now to reduce their financial risk and stress levels. An intermediary that is experienced in the industry can answer your questions about your business value and timing of a sale.
What do you want the twilight of your career to look like? Some owners know they don’t want to work for someone else. Others really like the idea of someone else taking the reins (and the HR and accounting headaches) so they can focus on the aspects of the business that they enjoy the most.
What are your plans for a fulfilling retirement? After working 40+ hours a week for decades, it’s a hard question for some owners to answer. Yet you know it’s important to consider it now versus winding up sitting at home a week after your sale going… hhhmmm, what am I going to do now?
Once you’ve answered these key questions, you can proactively take advantage of the significant amount of interest in acquiring your business. You won’t simply be drowning in inbound inquiries. You’ll have goals and purpose in how you pursue the results you want from a successful business sale process.
Sources: