Practice area
Air conditioning and refrigeration contractors
No trade has more acquisition capital moving through it than HVAC, and no state has more licensed contractors than Texas. We obtained the state's complete license file and separated the independents from the national platforms operating under local names.
What a buyer is paying for
Not revenue. In this trade specifically, price is driven by the share of work that recurs without being sold again.
The service agreement base
Maintenance agreements are the subscription revenue of this trade. Buyers separate agreement revenue from installation revenue and pay very different multiples for each; owners who cannot evidence the split receive the blended figure.
Commercial mix and tonnage class
A Class A license permits unlimited tonnage, which means commercial work. Commercial service books trade above residential replacement businesses, and the license class is a matter of public record.
The technician bench
Licensed and registered technicians who remain through a transition are most of what a buyer is paying for in a service business. Documented compensation, tenure and certifications survive diligence; a list of first names does not.
The market, measured
Private equity's share of HVAC acquisitions roughly tripled between 2023 and 2024, and the platforms conducting the buying operate in Texas today under local names. A meaningful share of the companies on the state file are already owned by acquirers; we map which ones, because the remaining independents are the sellers, and the platforms are the buyer list.
The state publishes the license class and every licensed contractor per business, which makes size and commercial capability visible from public data before a single conversation.
Measured August 2026
Figures drift as the market changes. We re-measure quarterly rather than quoting a figure once and repeating it.
Who this practice serves
- An independent contractor, not a branch of a platform and not bound by a franchise obligation that cannot be sold around.
- A service-agreement base alongside installation work: the recurring half is what buyers price.
- Class A license holders performing commercial work, where the strongest multiples sit.
If you have already received an approach, bring the offer to us before signing anything. A letter of intent usually carries an exclusivity clause, and once it is executed the seller’s leverage is largely gone.