Next Chapter M&A | Home System Overview Air Control Hub
Buyer Dossier

Wrench Group / Leonard Green & Partners

Prepared for Air Control
8Fit
Air Control • National HVAC Platform

Buyer Profile

  • Wrench Group is one of the largest residential HVAC platforms in the United States
  • Operates 25+ brands across 27+ markets in 14+ states
  • Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) acquired a majority stake in April 2019 from Investcorp; LGP is a Los Angeles-based growth-equity firm with ~$70B AUM
  • Ken Haines — CEO (appointed 2016; CEO of Coolray since 2003; 40+ years industry experience)
  • Estimated $1.3B+ in total capital raised across six funding rounds
  • September 2025: $1.3B loan facility closed (lenders: Blue Owl Capital, Oak Hill Advisors, Crescent Capital Group)
  • Oklahoma City greenfield expansion (Nov 2023 — Comfort Wave Home Services) demonstrates continued organic growth appetite alongside acquisitions
  • Key brands include Coolray, Horizon Services, Hiller Plumbing Heating & Cooling, and others spanning HVAC, plumbing, and electrical

Contacts

Name Title Contact Notes
Ken Haines CEO — 40+ years HVAC; ex-Coolray CEO (2003–2016)
Corp Dev Contact — — To be identified via LGP / LinkedIn outreach

Strategic Fit

Wrench Group is the largest independent residential HVAC platform in the US — a natural strategic acquirer for a well-run operator like Air Control.

Leonard Green & Partners' backing provides virtually unlimited acquisition capital. The September 2025 $1.3B loan facility signals the platform is actively capitalized for continued expansion.

Wrench Group has executed dozens of acquisitions since LGP's 2019 entry, with both buy-and-build M&A and greenfield launches as parallel growth levers.

Air Control would fit as a Mid-Atlantic bolt-on, extending Wrench Group's East Coast footprint into a geography where the platform currently has limited density.

Risk: At Wrench Group's current scale, they may prioritize larger platform acquisitions over smaller bolt-ons. Positioning Air Control as a high-quality entry point into an underserved market corridor will be critical.

Approach Strategy

1
Platform Scale Signal
With 25+ brands across 27 markets, Wrench Group has proven they can integrate regional operators at scale. Lead with Air Control's clean operational profile and customer concentration as a low-friction bolt-on — not a fixer-upper.
2
OKC Greenfield = Growth Mode
Wrench Group's November 2023 Oklahoma City greenfield launch shows the platform isn't waiting for acquisitions — they'll build from scratch when they want a market. Frame the Air Control opportunity as a faster, lower-risk path into the Mid-Atlantic than building greenfield.
3
Ken Haines Operator Credibility
Ken Haines spent 13 years running Coolray before becoming Wrench Group CEO — he is a career operator, not a financial buyer. Speak the language of technician culture, service agreements, and long-term customer relationships, not just EBITDA multiples.

Pipeline History

Stage Status Date
Target Identified Complete 2025
Research Complete Complete Mar 2026
Outreach Pending Next Step —
Updated March 30, 2026 • Next Chapter M&A Advisory • Confidential