Apex Service Partners, backed by Alpine Investors, closed approximately 60 add-on acquisitions in 2025 alone across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical — substantially more than any other platform tracked by the 2026 HVAC PE roll-up analysis compiled by CTC Acquisitions. That cadence brought the platform to nearly 300 businesses and approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue.

For context: 60 acquisitions in one year means Apex was completing more than one deal per week, every week, for the entire year. No other platform in the industry matched that pace. If you have not heard of Apex Service Partners, you are not alone — the platform has grown with less press attention than some of its peers. But by the only metric that matters in the acquisition business — deal volume — it is the most active HVAC acquirer in the country.

Who Is Apex Service Partners?

Apex Service Partners is a home and commercial services platform backed by Alpine Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm that specialises in services businesses — including home services, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. Alpine's approach combines acquisition-led growth with a distinctive people-and-leadership philosophy: rather than imposing a standardised corporate operating model on acquired businesses, Alpine invests heavily in leadership development and tries to preserve the local culture that made the acquired business successful.

Apex aggregates HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses across the country under a portfolio approach — maintaining local brands and management while providing access to shared resources: capital for equipment and fleet, technology infrastructure, marketing support, training, and the financial reporting infrastructure that a portfolio of 300 businesses requires.

Apex Service Partners, backed by Alpine Investors, completed approximately 60 disclosed add-on acquisitions in 2025 across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical — building a portfolio of nearly 300 businesses and approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue and leading all tracked HVAC platforms by disclosed deal volume by a significant margin.

The 60-Acquisition Pace — How It's Possible

Executing 60 acquisitions in a year requires a specific operating model that most people associate with large corporate M&A teams — which is exactly what Apex has built. The platform:

• Maintains a dedicated business development team that systematically identifies, approaches, and qualifies acquisition targets across its target geographies and service categories

• Has standardised the due diligence and legal documentation process to reduce the time and cost of each individual transaction — enabling a volume of deals that ad-hoc M&A approaches cannot achieve

• Uses a centralised integration playbook that rapidly onboards acquired businesses to shared financial, technology, and operational systems without disrupting the local service delivery model

• Retains acquired business owners and management in operating roles — with equity stakes in both the acquired company and in the broader Apex platform — creating alignment between the platform and the businesses it acquires

The Competitive Landscape: Who Else Is Active

The 2026 HVAC PE roll-up tracker identifies 18 verified active platforms with disclosed 2024 to 2026 acquisitions. Beyond Apex, the most active platforms include:

• Sila Services (Goldman Sachs Alternatives): A residential and commercial HVAC platform recently acquired by Goldman Sachs in a $1.5 billion sponsor-to-sponsor transaction, signalling institutional appetite for HVAC at the highest level of capital markets

• Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX): The largest publicly traded US mechanical and electrical services contractor, with continuous disclosed acquisitions including J&S Mechanical (Utah, $120M), Century Contractors (NC), and Feyen Zylstra Holdings + Meisner Electric (MI/FL, $200-240M revenue contribution)

• Service Logic (Bain Capital + Mubadala): A commercial HVAC service platform with an active add-on strategy focused on building owners, property managers, and institutional accounts

• Wrench Group (Leonard Green & Partners): A multi-trade home services platform with residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical capabilities

• Crete United (Ridgemont Equity Partners): A commercial building services platform with mechanical, electrical, and specialty contracting focus

What This Means for Independent HVAC Owners

With 27 active PE platforms, $50 billion or more in committed capital, and 2,405 investors actively seeking HVAC acquisitions on the Axial marketplace alone — the market for quality HVAC businesses has never been more liquid. For independent HVAC business owners:

• The buyer universe is larger than it has ever been: You are not limited to the one or two PE firms that have called you. The ecosystem of acquirers spans from Apex's high-volume roll-up approach to Alpine Investors' culture-preserving model to family office buyers who offer patient capital without PE timelines.

• Process matters enormously: Axial's data shows advisor-led sale processes achieve approximately 25% higher valuations, are 75% more likely to close, and save owners 15-plus hours per week. The difference between a structured, competitive sale process and a one-to-one negotiation is often hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• Recurring revenue is the primary value driver: All of the active platforms — Apex, Sila, Comfort Systems, Service Logic — are explicitly buying businesses with maintenance contracts and recurring revenue. Service agreement penetration above 25% of the customer base is the single highest-value characteristic a selling HVAC business can demonstrate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Apex Service Partners?

Apex Service Partners is an Alpine Investors-backed home and commercial services platform that completed approximately 60 HVAC, plumbing, and electrical add-on acquisitions in 2025 alone — more than any other tracked platform. The portfolio has grown to nearly 300 businesses and approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue.

How many PE firms are buying HVAC companies?

The 2026 HVAC PE roll-up tracker identifies 18 verified active platforms with 2024 to 2026 acquisitions, and the Axial marketplace lists 2,405 investors actively seeking HVAC acquisitions. Total committed capital across active platforms is estimated at more than $50 billion.

What makes an HVAC business attractive to PE buyers?

PE buyers prioritise recurring revenue from maintenance contracts, reduced owner dependency, documented financial records, geographic expansion potential, multi-trade capability (HVAC plus plumbing and electrical), and service agreement penetration above 25% of the customer base. Data centre and mission-critical service capability commands premium multiples.