Residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical M&A is entering a stretch where the action is not only tuck-ins under existing platforms — it is the platforms themselves. Sponsors that built multi-brand networks over the past half-decade are testing exits, and that calendar looks busy through the next 12–18 months and into 2027.
Homepros reported this week that Kansas City–based Flint Group has launched a sale process, according to people familiar with the matter. Those sources said Flint hired William Blair to run it, that the process is in the early stages, and that there is no guarantee of a deal. Flint declined to comment to Homepros; William Blair did not return a request for comment. Homepros describes Flint as a residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical platform founded in 2019 that has partnered with 19 brands from Washington State to Florida, with a 2023 strategic investment from General Atlantic that remains in place. It also cites Ingram’s for Flint generating over $400 million in revenue in 2025 (up more than threefold from 2022), while noting current annualized revenue and EBITDA could not be ascertained.
This is not an isolated process.
Flint sits alongside other PE-backed residential multi-trade platforms already in or near a sale process. ARS has been exploring a sale at a reported ~$3.5 billion enterprise value. USA Hometown Experts — MSouth’s Southeast HVAC, plumbing, and electrical platform — launched a process earlier this year. The same stretch already includes Blackstone’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Champions Group and Apollo’s minority investment valuing Apex Service Partners at $10 billion — platform-level capital events, not tuck-ins.
Others are expected to gear up for sale processes into 2027. The pattern is the sponsor exit cycle catching up with platforms that have been in hold for years, not a one-off rumor.
What it means.
Expect more PE-backed residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical platforms to come to market over the next 12–18 months. This is an active period for M&A at the platform level.
Many sponsors are well into extended hold periods of five or more years. Valuation levels in the industry have remained resilient and very strong. Against that backdrop, PE is likely to monetize ahead of the 2028 general election, which points to an acceleration in platform-level M&A activity while buyer demand and pricing stay firm.
For residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners, the practical read is the calendar. When platforms go to market, strategic and financial buyers reshuffle who is actively competing for the next bolt-on — and who is heads-down on diligence and integration. Flint’s reported process is early-stage news, not a closed transaction. It is one more signal that the sponsor exit wave in this vertical is underway.
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