Reuters reports that KKR has agreed to buy A1 Garage Door Service for around $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. The September 2 Reuters item is a sources-say report, not a company announcement. KKR and Cortec declined to comment. A1 could not be reached.
The asset.
A1 is a Phoenix, Arizona residential garage-door repair and replacement operator founded in 2007 by CEO Tommy Mello. Reuters describes it as one of the largest residential garage-door service providers in the country, operating in around 20 states. That is the figure in this week’s item.
Cortec’s recap release, posted in January 2023 for a December 22, 2022 close, described 25 markets. Markets and states are different units, and the two snapshots are three and a half years apart.
Inc.’s 2026 5000 profile lists A1 Garage Door Service of Phoenix, under Tommy Mello, at No. 2,335, with 144 percent three-year growth and 32 markets. That is a growth ranking, not a revenue print.
The platform.
KKR is not new to residential services. On July 8, 2021, it agreed to acquire Neighborly from Harvest Partners. Neighborly’s announcement called it the world’s largest provider and franchisor of home-service brands, including plumbing, pest control, restoration, electrical, cleaning, HVAC, and home inspection. Financial details were not disclosed. That announcement is 2021; some later write-ups have drifted to 2024.
On February 1, 2023, Groundworks announced a significant investment from KKR, primarily through the North America XIII Fund. Cortec, Groundworks’ then growth partner, said it would remain an important shareholder and a member of the board. Terms were not disclosed. Reuters notes that Cortec is also an investor in Groundworks.
This week’s item is KKR adding a company-owned garage-door operator alongside a franchise home-services platform. Neighborly is a multi-brand franchisor. A1 is a single national service brand.
The 2022 recap, and what we do not have.
On December 22, 2022, an affiliated group led by Cortec Group Fund VII completed a growth recapitalization of A1 Garage Door Service Holdings, Inc. in partnership with Mello and management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Mello continued to lead and, Cortec said, maintained a significant ownership stake. The A1 investment was the eighth and final platform in Cortec VII, a $2.1 billion fund that closed in November 2019 — fund size, not a price for A1. Senior debt came from Audax Private Debt, PennantPark Investment Advisers, Invesco Private Debt, and Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund. Paul Hastings advised Cortec; Cowen and Foley & Lardner advised A1. Cortec pointed to Window Nation, Groundworks, Goettl, and Four Seasons as residential-services experience.
What Cortec did not publish is a purchase price, equity value, or EBITDA.
A later founder interview did. On the Hampton Moneywise podcast (March 4, 2025), Tommy Mello said the 2022 recap was “just under 30 million of EBITDA” and a multiple “in the 20s.” He said $100 million went to employees, “a couple hundred million” to him, and he rolled the rest; asked if he owns 47 percent, he said yes. That is a founder podcast, not a Cortec or KKR disclosure.
Arithmetic on those founder figures only: 20x to 25x on about $30 million of EBITDA implies a recap value of roughly $600–750 million in 2022. Reuters now says around $2 billion. Current earnings are not in the Reuters item, so a 2026 multiple cannot be calculated.
A $2 billion garage-door print.
The other 2026 garage-door sources-say print is Guild. Reuters, again through Abigail Summerville, reported on March 6 that Oak Hill Capital had agreed to buy Guild Garage Group for more than $800 million. People familiar with that matter said Guild, launched in 2024, had made close to 30 acquisitions and generated over $300 million of annual revenue and close to $50 million of EBITDA. On those source figures, the $800 million-plus is about 16x EBITDA and about 2.7x sales. Oak Hill and Guild declined to comment. That is Reuters sources, not a company print.
A1 is a single national brand. Guild is an alliance of local operators. The comparison is the vertical, not the operating model. A mega-cap firm paying a headline number in this trade is a signal even without current earnings on the page.
What it means.
For garage-door and residential field-service owners, the ceiling on this vertical just got a Reuters print. This is a sponsor-to-sponsor exit after a founder recap whose original terms were never published. Do not invent a multiple for your shop off $2 billion. The number in the item is a reported price, not a valuation formula, and it sits on a platform that already had national density, a 2022 institutional recap, and a founder who stayed in.
Source: Reuters.
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