M&A activity snapshot
Electrical contracting M&A peaked in 2024 and normalized in 2025. Cascade Partners counted 140 U.S. electrical contractor acquisitions in 2024 and 99 in 2025, and expects that normalized pace to continue or grow into 2026. EC&M reported the same 2025 decline.
The market is large and mostly commercial. Cascade, citing IBISWorld, puts the U.S. electrical contracting market at $312 billion in 2025, with residential at about 9% of demand. That split explains why the biggest deals and the highest multiples sit in commercial and data-center work, not residential service.
Who is buying
Private equity has moved in. Cascade reports that since 2023, financial buyers represent the majority of M&A transactions in the space, in part because the HVAC and MEP roll-up strategy has faded with consolidation and higher valuations, and those platforms now add electrical capabilities. Cascade's platform list includes SkyKnight Capital's FirstCall Group, Stellex Capital's ICS Holdings and NorthCurrent's Liberty Service Partners.
Buyers split by end market:
- Residential. Multi-trade platforms such as Apex Service Partners add electrical service to HVAC and plumbing. National franchise brands include Mister Sparky, acquired by Authority Brands with Clockwork in 2019, and Mr. Electric within Neighborly, which KKR agreed to acquire in 2021.
- Commercial and data center. EMCOR acquired Miller Electric, a Southeastern electrical contractor, for $865 million in cash, and Dycom acquired one of the largest data-center electrical contractors in the Mid-Atlantic for an enterprise value of $1.9 billion.
What buyers look for
Cascade's description of the ideal platform target is specific: roughly 50/50 new construction versus tenant-improvement, retrofit and service revenue; at least two high-growth end markets; and at least $10 million of EBITDA. It adds that recurring revenue from preventative maintenance and service agreements improves cash flow stability, and upgrade and retrofit projects command higher multiples due to lower cyclicality.
Two diligence items are specific to electrical. First, project accounting: buyers often run a lookback analysis in the quality-of-earnings review to recast margins on final project results. Second, bonding requirements and union affiliations deter some financial buyers, though strategics are more open to them.
Licensing creates key-person risk. In Texas, when the master electrician of record leaves, the business must designate a replacement within thirty business days. Code cycles also shift work: Texas adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code effective September 1, 2026.
What makes a strong company
Electrical contractors that command premium interest usually show:
- A meaningful share of service, retrofit and maintenance revenue, not only new-construction projects.
- Clean job-cost accounting that survives a project lookback.
- More than one master electrician, so the license does not leave with the owner.
- Exposure to growing end markets, such as data centers, healthcare or utility work, for commercial contractors.
- For residential service, a membership or maintenance base and service-call volume that a multi-trade platform can route alongside HVAC and plumbing.
- A technician bench in a tight labor market: O*NET reports 818,700 electricians employed in 2024, with 81,000 projected openings over 2024-2034.
Valuation and deal structure
Disclosed multiples come from large strategic deals. EMCOR paid an enterprise value of $850.2 million for Miller Electric, equal to 10.6x EV/EBITDA, and Sterling paid 12.6x EV/EBITDA for CEC Facilities Group. Dycom's acquisition of a Mid-Atlantic data-center electrical contractor priced at 9.7x EV/EBITDA in December 2025. These are data-center-weighted businesses with hundreds of millions in revenue.
For lower-middle-market sellers, a general benchmark is more appropriate: GF Data's average for $10M-$500M LBOs was 7.2x EBITDA from 2023 to H1 2025, versus 6.7x for 2003-2020, as cited by Cascade. That is an all-industry proxy. No public source publishes a multiple for residential electrical service specifically, and none tracks earnout or rollover rates in electrical deals.
Outlook
Expect deal volume to hold near 2025 levels, with secondary sales of platforms adding supply. Cascade notes that exits from first-round platforms have started and are increasingly likely to come to market in the near term. Commercial demand tied to data centers should keep strategic interest high.
Residential electrification incentives have narrowed. The energy-efficient home improvement credit, which covered panel upgrades, ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the EV charger credit ended for property placed in service after June 30, 2026. DOE's Home Energy Rebates are available only in select states. Residential electricians whose growth depended on those credits should expect buyers to test that revenue closely.
Own an electrical contracting business? Run the valuation tool or read what buyers look for in detail. Part of Home Services M&A. See also: how independent sponsors source deals.