A fire protection company is sold about every eight days. Is yours next?
Since January, a U.S. fire protection company has been announced as acquired about once every eight days, and that counts only the deals buyers chose to announce. Here is what is driving the wave, what rates are doing to it, and what it means if you own one of these businesses.
By Mac Weinles, Managing Partner, McNath Partners · November 3, 2026
Everybody wants the same thing: revenue that shows up anyway
Strip away the jargon and buyers want one thing: revenue that arrives whether or not the economy cooperates. Fire protection and pest control deliver it, and for different reasons.
In fire and life safety, the customer often has no choice. NFPA 25 sets inspection, testing and maintenance for water-based systems, and local codes enforce it. The Fire Life and Safety registry quotes APi Group, a public acquirer, saying that “mandated building codes and inspections and maintenance requirements” generate demand “often on a recurring basis,” and that it targets “non-discretionary, regulatory driven, recurring revenue.” Security Sales & Integration makes the same point, calling the industry known for recurring revenue that is resilient in recessions.
In pest control, customers keep paying because the pests keep coming. Specialty Consultants figures cited in the May 2026 issue of Pest Control Technology put U.S. structural pest control revenue at $13.416 billion in 2025, up $762 million from the prior year, with 85.4% of residential revenue recurring. A trade article in Pest Management Professional calls the business a “darling” of private equity and strategic buyers for exactly that reason: recurring revenue from many profitable customers who stay for years.
The roll-up wave is real, and it runs on private money
In fire protection, the registry counts 310 add-on acquisitions announced by six buyers from January 2020 to October 26, 2026. Announced deals grew from 19 in 2020 to 69 in 2025. Private-capital-backed platforms made 97.4% of them, and two of those platforms, Pye-Barker and Summit, made 86.8%. The registry calls itself a floor: Pye-Barker says it made 57 acquisitions in 2025, but the registry could match only 42 to named announcements. Each release reads the same, such as Fire Protection Specialists in Washington in June or Southland Fire & Safety in Louisiana in July.
In pest control, Pest Control Technology quotes William Blair’s Mulrooney saying more than 50 private equity platforms are active, and cites an estimate of about $2.5 billion of PE-backed service revenue and at least 14 PE-backed firms in the Top 100. Strategics are in the hunt too. Rollins bought Utah-based Saela in April 2025, announcing a company with more than 250 employees and over $65 million of revenue, ranked 23rd in the PCT 100 (see also PCT’s coverage). A Rollins SEC filing put the price at $200 million plus $15 million contingent on future performance.
Two facts matter for sellers. First, add-ons are the main play: PitchBook data summarized by CLA show add-ons were 74.9% of U.S. buyout deals through the third quarter of 2026. You are far more likely to be an add-on than a platform. Second, there is plenty left to buy. The same PCT issue counts 16,565 pest control firms in 2025, 81.4% with one or two locations, and says that only 20 of the 2000 Top 50 are still independent.
Valuation: what the data says and what it does not
Headline multiples are a trap for small companies. Mufson Howe Hunter reports that U.S. buyout multiples have eased from a 2021–22 peak of roughly 14x EBITDA to 12.0x in 2026 on a trailing basis, up from 11.5x in 2025. Those figures reflect the whole buyout market, dominated by far larger companies than yours. Bain describes an era “defined by higher interest rates, stubbornly high asset prices, and less of the multiple expansion” that powered earlier deals.
For smaller businesses, the 2026 Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report gives medians for business services that rise with size: 6.2x EBITDA for $1 to $5 million of EBITDA versus 7.5x for $10 to $25 million. It is a survey of 43 investment bankers and not specific to fire or pest control. Half of the bankers reported seeing a premium for strategic buyers, most often 11–20%.
Here is the logic of the roll-up. Kevin Zhao, writing in Security Sales & Integration, describes small fire and life safety firms trading at 4.0x–6.5x EBITDA, rolled into a platform and sold at a higher multiple, often in the mid-to-high teens, and counts about 38 U.S. transactions a quarter since 2020. That is one adviser’s view, but it explains the appetite. Our take: you cannot capture all of that spread, but you can make buyers compete to share it.
Rates: the money is there, but it is picky
The Federal Reserve held its target range at 3¾–4% on October 28, with two dissenters who wanted a hike. CNBC reports the range has been there since a quarter-point increase in September, and the statement says “inflation remains elevated.” Do not build a sale plan around rate cuts arriving on schedule.
Bain’s midyear report says global buyout value fell from $267 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $173 billion in the first quarter, even though debt markets are open. Mufson Howe Hunter says direct lending behind leveraged buyouts fell to $10.3 billion in Q3, about 62% below a year earlier, which it calls “not a capital shortage, but discipline.” For U.S. deals under $250 million, it counts Q3 deals down about 37% from Q2 and year-to-date volume roughly 36% below 2025.
Not every source agrees on how soft the smaller end is. PitchBook’s middle-market report says deal count surpassed 1,000 for the first time since early 2024 and is on pace for a second-best year on record. The definitions differ, but the message is the same: buyers are active and selective, and a company with clean numbers gets attention. On financing, Pepperdine’s bankers report that senior debt is easier to arrange above $5 million of EBITDA, that most deals take nine months or more to close, and that a median 32% of engagements fail, most often over a valuation gap.
What this means if you are thinking of selling in 2026–2027
Our opinions, built on the facts above:
- You do not need to take the first call. With this many buyers, an owner who talks to one is leaving money and options on the table. A process that reaches strategics, platforms and regional operators gives you real alternatives. See private equity vs. strategic buyers.
- Recurring revenue is your currency. Show renewals, retention and revenue by service line. In pest control, that is what drives the multiple.
- Make your add-backs supportable. Mufson Howe Hunter’s advice to owners is to bring “clean financials, supportable add-backs and a credible growth plan.” Read how EBITDA add-backs get tested.
- Start early. Nine months or more to close means a sale in 2027 starts preparation now.
- Ask about the buyer’s exit. If you roll equity or take an earn-out, your payout depends on a later sale. Pepperdine puts sales to another PE group at about 49% of PE exits.
- Judge the offer on terms, not the headline. Cash at close, notes, earn-outs and what happens to your team all count.
The honest caveat
Nobody knows where rates, credit or multiples go from here, and every figure above is a snapshot with its own methodology. None of this is a valuation of your company. What the sources do show is that capital is chasing recurring-revenue trades, and that prepared sellers who run a competitive process are better placed than unprepared ones.
Frequently asked questions
Why is private equity buying fire protection and pest control companies?
Recurring, often code-driven or routine service revenue is predictable and sticky, and both industries are fragmented, so a platform can add smaller companies to grow. Buyers and trade publications describe the revenue as recurring and non-discretionary.
Is it a good time to sell a fire protection or pest control company?
It depends on your company and goals. Buyers are active and capital is selective: clean financials and strong recurring revenue are rewarded, and sales take nine months or more to close. Talk to an adviser before deciding.
Do higher interest rates reduce what my company is worth?
They can affect what buyers can borrow and pay, and sources describe lenders as disciplined. A strong, recurring-revenue business still draws interest, and the effect on any one company is specific to it.
Is my company big enough for private equity?
Platforms buy add-ons of many sizes, and add-ons are about three of every four U.S. buyout deals this year. Size affects the buyer pool and multiple, but smaller companies do trade.
Is a first conversation with McNath confidential?
Yes. A first conversation is confidential and there is no obligation.
Where to go from here
Read how a pest control company is valued, what a fire protection company is worth or private equity vs. strategic buyers. See our pages for pest control and fire & life safety owners.
Start with a confidential conversation
No pressure and no obligation. Tell us a little about your company and what you are thinking, and one of us will write back personally.
Sources
Every figure in this article comes from one of these pages, which we opened while writing. Market data moves quickly, so check the date on each.
- Fire Life and Safety: Fire Protection Acquisitions in the U.S., 2020 to 2026 (registry) — 310 add-on deals, buyer shares, Pye-Barker and APi quotes and counts
- NFPA 25 standard page — inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based systems
- Security Sales & Integration: Fire Protection & Life Safety Services, A Roll-Up Opportunity (April 17, 2026) — deal flow and roll-up multiples, one adviser’s view
- Pest Control Technology, May 2026 issue (PDF) — industry revenue, firm counts, PE platforms
- Specialty Consultants — source of the industry revenue figures quoted in PCT
- Pest Management Professional: 7 factors that drive the value of a pest management business (August 20, 2026) — PE and strategic demand for recurring revenue
- Rollins press release: completes acquisition of Saela Holdings (April 2, 2025) — size and rank of the target
- Rollins SEC filing (subsequent events note, Q1 2025) — $200 million plus $15 million contingent price
- Pest Control Technology: Rollins acquires Saela Pest Control — trade coverage of the deal
- PR Newswire: Pye-Barker acquires Fire Protection Specialists (June 8, 2026) — example add-on announcement
- Pye-Barker newsroom: acquires Southland Fire & Safety Equipment (July 29, 2026) — example add-on announcement
- PitchBook: Q3 2026 US PE Breakdown — add-on share of U.S. buyouts
- PitchBook: Q3 2026 US PE Middle Market Report — middle-market deal count
- CLA: Larger deals lift U.S. private equity, but selectivity matters — summary of PitchBook figures
- Mufson Howe Hunter: Middle Market M&A Update, Q3 2026 (PDF) — multiples, direct lending, lower-middle-market activity
- Bain & Company: Private Equity Midyear Report 2026 — buyout value, rate and pricing environment
- Federal Reserve: FOMC statement, October 28, 2026 — policy rate and inflation language
- CNBC: Fed interest rate decision, October 2026 — September increase and rate range
- Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report (2026 edition, landing page) — banker survey data: multiples, strategic premium, time to close, failure rate, PE exits