Case Study · The $10 Billion Platform

Inside the Roll-Up That Reached $10 Billion: Apex Service Partners and the HVAC Consolidation Wave

When Apollo Global Management agreed to invest $2 billion in Apex Service Partners at a $10 billion valuation, it marked a defining moment for the home services industry. But the story of how Apex got there — built one founder acquisition at a time — runs directly through Good Hope Advisors.

GHA was there at the beginning, advising sellers into what was then an upstart platform. Now that platform is the largest private equity-backed residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company in the United States.

Apex Service Partners

From Startup Platform to $10 Billion Giant

Founded in 2019 with backing from Alpine Investors, Apex Service Partners was built on a straightforward thesis: acquire the best local HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors across the U.S. and give them the infrastructure to grow.

In less than seven years, that thesis produced one of the most remarkable outcomes in private equity history. Today, Apex operates 75 local contracting brands across 46 U.S. states with more than 13,000 employees and over $3 billion in annual revenue. The Apollo investment — roughly $2 billion for a minority stake — values the platform at approximately $10 billion including debt.

Good Hope Advisors was present at the earliest stages of that growth, advising founder-owned sellers who became the building blocks of what Apex is today.

GHA's Role

Advising Founders Into the Apex Platform

Academy Air (St. Louis) – Advised by GHA, July 2020

One of Apex's early platform acquisitions, GHA served as sell-side advisor for Academy Air — a second-generation family-owned HVAC, plumbing, and electrical business in greater St. Louis. The deal helped expand Apex's geographic footprint beyond its founding markets in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

A Pattern of Seller Representation Across Major Platforms

GHA's involvement with Apex was part of a broader track record representing founders selling into the industry's largest consolidating platforms — including TurnPoint Services, ARS, Sila Services, and Horizon (now StrikePoint). In each case, GHA stood on the seller's side of the table, navigating PE-driven processes that most founders face only once in their lives.

$10B+ in Platform Valuations Across GHA's Track Record

The combined value of the platforms GHA has advised sellers into now exceeds $10 billion. That figure — spanning Apex, Sila, TurnPoint, ARS, and others — reflects a decade of consistent, founder-first advisory in one of the most active M&A markets in the trades.

The Apex Growth Arc

Private Equity's Biggest Home Services Bet

Apex's rise to a $10 billion valuation followed a deliberate and well-capitalized playbook:

2019
Alpine Investors launches Apex Service Partners as a platform to acquire and scale residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors across the U.S.
2020
Early platform add-ons expand Apex's national footprint. GHA advises Academy Air's entry into the Apex platform, one of the platform's first major regional expansions.
2023
Alpine moves Apex into a $3.4 billion single-asset continuation vehicle — a structure allowing Alpine to retain ownership while giving certain investors liquidity. Blackstone Strategic Partners, HarbourVest, Lexington Partners, and Pantheon participate.
2026
Apollo Global Management agrees to invest $2 billion in a minority stake, valuing Apex at approximately $10 billion. Goldman Sachs and Evercore advise on the transaction. Apex now operates 75 brands across 46 states with 13,000+ employees.

Each phase depended on quality acquisitions of founder-owned businesses — and GHA was advising those founders at the earliest and most critical stage of the platform's growth.

What Sets Good Hope Advisors Apart

Founder-First, Deal After Deal

Specialization in Trades

GHA is built for HVAC, plumbing, and similar contractor businesses—not generic sell-side advisory. That specialization means founders are represented by advisors who understand their business, their buyers, and their market.

Sell-Side Only

GHA represents sellers exclusively — never buyers, never both sides. Founders get undivided advocacy from first call through closing, with senior partners on every deal and no handoffs to junior staff.

A Track Record That Compounds

From an early Apex add-on in 2020 to a triple-play with Sila Services across three PE sponsors, GHA's consistent presence at the highest levels of the home services M&A market reflects trust earned deal by deal.

Beyond Apex

A Track Record Across the Industry

Apex may be the headline story today, but GHA has advised on transactions across all of the major platforms reshaping the home services sector — including Sila Services, TurnPoint Services, ARS, and Horizon (now StrikePoint) — helping independent contractors exit on strong terms while helping platforms scale with quality. (Axial Industry Advisor Rankings)

Quality Service Integration

GHA helps platforms like Apex acquire businesses that maintain high service standards and strong local reputations — the exact operators PE firms are competing to acquire.

Successful Founder Exits

Independent contractors achieve strong valuations and protected transitions with expert guidance — ensuring the business they built lands in the right hands at the right price.

Platform Scaling

Strategic acquisitions of quality founder-owned operators enable rapid but sustainable platform growth — the model that took Apex from startup to $10 billion.

Conclusion

GHA's Role in a $10 Billion Industry Milestone

The Apex Service Partners story is the clearest signal yet that the consolidation of HVAC and related trades is not slowing down. As platforms compete fiercely for quality businesses, the founders who built those businesses need advisors who understand what's at stake on both sides of the table.

With a presence in the Apex story from the earliest platform acquisitions, and a broader track record spanning $10B+ in platform valuations across the home services sector, Good Hope Advisors isn't just watching this wave — it helped build it, one founder at a time.

The Numbers Behind the Story

The Apex Milestone

$10B

Apex Valuation

Apex Service Partners' valuation following Apollo's minority investment — the largest PE-backed home services platform in the U.S.

$2B

Apollo Investment

Apollo Global Management's minority stake investment in Apex, signaling continued institutional confidence in the home services roll-up model.

Local Brands

Apex operates 75 local contracting brands across 46 U.S. states — built one founder acquisition at a time, with GHA advising key early sellers.

The Apex milestone is a reflection of what disciplined, founder-first acquisitions can produce over time. Good Hope Advisors' role in the early stages of the platform's growth highlights the compounding value of industry-specific M&A expertise — and what it means to have the right advisor representing you when the biggest buyers in the country come calling.

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