Expanding on our last post, Private Equity Investments in HVAC Companies, here we show the most active PE investors in HVAC companies, sample platform investments, and recent add-on HVAC investments.
Private equity acquisitions of Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) companies have accelerated in recent years as PE firms employ an industry roll-up and consolidation strategy in this traditionally fragmented space.
Our M&A Research Database shows 673 historical PE investments in HVAC companies, including:
379 platform acquisitions since 2010 (see graph below)
55 platform acquisitions in 2021 alone.
There are currently 233 active PE portfolio companies in the HVAC space (and 440 exits).
The single best metric of a private equity firm’s appetite for a particular industry is the constitution of their portfolio – investments they have already made. For this, we produce a monthly PE Industry Trends report, based on completed private equity deals.
While Manufacturing & Distribution was the most sought after industry among PE firms (by stated industry of interest) in 2021, Software deals actually topped the list of completed deals.
We reviewed our private equity database for 2021 platform acquisitions to determine the most active investment banking firms closing deals with private equity acquirers. Here are the top 10 I-banks, ranked by number of deals closed as PE platform acquisitions.
Traditionally, Construction has not been a preferred industry of interest for private equity firms, precisely because it is often capital intensive and cyclical.
However, the Private Equity Info Research Database currently tracks 393 unique portfolio companies in the Construction space, collectively owned by 321 unique private equity firms. Clearly, there is now PE appetite in the construction space.
Top PE Firms Investing in the Construction Industry
The following PE firms hold at least 3 current platform investments in construction companies.
The Private Equity Info Research Database currently tracks 521 unique portfolio companies in the Apparel space, collectively owned by 386 unique private equity firms.
The graph below shows the PE platform investment trend in Apparel companies over the past 6 years.
The Private Equity Info Research Database shows 267 PE-backed portfolio companies in the Staffing space. These companies are collectively held by 195 private equity firms.
The Staffing market includes recruitment, workforce solutions, talent management, staffing services, staffing software, and more.
Private Equity has shown a substantial increased interest in Activewear companies in recent years, driven by greater health awareness and further fueled by Covid.
Portfolio company aging stats are dictated by past acquisition activity and exit rates over time.
As portfolio companies grow older in their respective funds, they age out, via an exit, often within 3 – 7 years. Portfolio companies in the 5 – 7 year vintage signal potential near-term transactions – deal flow – the lifeblood of investment banks, private equity firms, accountants, law firms, and a host of M&A service providers.
For U.S. portfolio companies owned by U.S.-based private equity firms, there are currently:
1,225 portfolio companies currently aged (5 – 5.9 years)
997 portfolio companies currently aged (6 – 6.9 years)
776 portfolio companies currently aged (7 – 7.9 years)
If we stand on the 5-year mark and look upstream at the parade of portfolio companies approaching their five-year anniversary in their respective funds, we’ll see the monthly aging flow shown in the graph below.
We reviewed all private equity platform investments in 2021 and ranked them by industry. The following Top 10 industries represent nearly half of all private equity platform acquisitions in 2021:
TOP 10 INDUSTRIES
Software
Manufacturing
Healthcare
Technology
Food & Beverage
Financial Services
Digital
Education
Industrial Services
E-Commerce
The chart below shows each of these industries as a percentage of the total PE platform acquisitions in 2021. Clearly, Software was the major industry of interest for private equity in 2021, representing17% of all platform acquisitions.