Burnaby HVAC & Mechanical Contractor Sold to a PE-Backed Consolidator
A founder-led mechanical contractor exited to a private-equity consolidator at a premium multiple after a 3-month value-prep sprint.
The challenge
The owner did everything — quoting, scheduling, key client relationships. Buyers feared the business would walk out the door with him. Add-backs were undocumented and customer concentration sat above 30%.
How we approached it
- 1Normalized three years of financials and documented a defensible add-back schedule
- 2Built a 90-day key-person de-risking plan: promoted a service manager, documented SOPs
- 3Diversified the top-account exposure before going to market
- 4Ran a confidential, NDA-gated process to PE-backed trades consolidators active in BC
The outcome
Five qualified buyers, three competing LOIs. Closed at roughly 4.1× SDE — about one full turn above the owner's original expectation — with a 12-month transition consulting agreement.
“I thought my involvement was an asset. BizSell showed me it was the single biggest discount buyers were pricing in — and helped me fix it before we ever went to market.”
Details anonymized and figures rounded to protect client confidentiality. Outcomes vary with market conditions, business quality, and timing.
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