Apollo Global Management has made a minority investment in Apex Service Partners — a fast-growing residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical services platform that has emerged as one of the largest consolidators in the U.S. home services market.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed in a May 28 announcement from Apex and private equity firm Alpine Investors, which formed Apex in 2019. Media reports, citing a person familiar with the matter, said the deal values Apex at approximately $10 billion. Those reports said Apollo’s investment is roughly $2 billion for a stake of more than 20%.

The deal marks another major milestone in Apex’s rapid expansion since Alpine launched the company seven years ago as a platform to acquire and scale residential service contractors. Apex now operates 75 local brands across 46 U.S. states, employs more than 13,000 people and generates more than $3 billion in annual revenue and $500 of EBITDA from over 150 total locations. The company is led by Co-CEOs AJ Brown and Will Matson.

“The Apex team has demonstrated the power of exceptional leadership and commitment to a clear, long-term vision: become the trusted partner of choice for the best local operators in the residential trades,” said Graham Weaver, Founder and CEO of Alpine Investors. “AJ, Will and their team have delivered on that vision at a pace and scale that few thought possible in seven years, and the investment by the Apollo Funds is a recognition of the platform they have built. We are proud to continue supporting Apex in this next chapter of growth.”

Apex focuses on acquiring and supporting residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors while maintaining local brand identities. The company says it provides partner businesses with centralized support across areas such as recruiting, training, technology, procurement and back-office operations.

Its acquisition pace has been aggressive. Since its formation, Apex has added dozens of regional home services businesses across HVAC, plumbing and electrical end markets, building a national platform from what has historically been a highly fragmented contractor base.

“Apex is a market-leading platform with an impressive management team, strong local brands and a clear runway for continued growth,” Apollo Managing Director Munesh Advani added. “We see significant opportunity in essential services, and Apex exemplifies the type of high-quality business we seek to support with hybrid, partnership-oriented capital and the resources of the broader Apollo platform.”

The Apollo investment follows Alpine’s 2023 decision to move Apex into a $3.4 billion single-asset continuation fund backed by Partners Group and other investors — a transaction Alpine said was designed to support Apex’s continued growth.

In announcing the Apollo investment, Apex and Alpine said the new capital will support continued acquisitions, technology investments and operational scaling. Media reports said part of the proceeds will also be used to reduce debt.

MDM Analysis

Apollo’s major investment in Apex highlights ongoing institutional investor interest in residential services platforms that generate recurring demand and steady cash flow. It follows other private equity-led investments in contractor services providers that include Blackstone’s $2.5 billion purchase of Champions Group and Redwood Services’ majority stake by Atlas Partners. Meanwhile, American Residential Services is reportedly eyeing a $3.5 billion sale, while USA Hometown Experts is likewise exploring a buyout.

follows a string of private equity-backed platform activity over the past year, including Redwood Services’ majority investment from Altas Partners, Blackstone’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Champions Group, and the reported sale processes of American Residential Services (ARS) and USA Hometown Experts.

For distributors, Apex’s growth is worth monitoring closely. Large home services platforms increasingly influence purchasing behavior across HVAC equipment, plumbing supplies, electrical products, tools and related industrial categories that have traditionally flowed through fragmented contractor channels. 

As consolidators like Apex scale nationally, they gain leverage in procurement, data analytics and supplier negotiations while standardizing purchasing across dozens of acquired businesses. That could gradually reshape channel dynamics, vendor relationships and margin structures for distributors serving residential trades.