How to sell your electrical contracting business.
Electrical is riding two tailwinds at once: essential service demand and the electrification of everything — EV charging, solar, panel upgrades, data centers. Private equity now drives roughly three-quarters of electrical M&A, and the contractors with recurring commercial service and specialty capabilities are getting the most attention. Here's what your business is worth and how to position it.
Typical electrical value
3× SDE – 9×+ EBITDA
What a electrical business is worth
The range, and what sets where you land.
Electrical M&A has accelerated sharply — PE deal volume in the first half of 2025 already exceeded all of 2024, and private equity now accounts for roughly 75% of electrical contractor acquisitions. Buyers are chasing two things: the steady, recurring economics of commercial service work, and exposure to the electrification trend. A service-weighted shop with EV, solar, or low-voltage capability sits exactly where the money is.
The one thing that matters most
Service mix and specialty capability decide your multiple
Project-only, owner-dependent electrical shops trade at the bottom of the range; shops with recurring commercial maintenance contracts and management depth trade at the top. Layer on specialty capability — documented EV-charging installs, commercial solar revenue, or data-center low-voltage work — and you pull in an entirely separate pool of strategic buyers (energy platforms, installer networks) who pay premiums for the multi-year tailwind. Two electrical businesses with the same revenue can be several turns apart based purely on service mix and specialty exposure.
What’s different
Selling a electrical business isn’t generic.
Electrical is being repriced by the energy transition. A generation ago an electrical contractor was valued on its backlog and crews; today buyers are also asking what share of your revenue rides structural growth — EV, solar, storage, smart building, data center. If you've built capability in those areas, you're not just a contractor anymore; you're a strategic asset, and you should be talking to strategic buyers who price you accordingly.
What drives electrical value
What buyers pay up for.
Recurring commercial service
Long-term commercial maintenance and service contracts are the steadiest, most valuable revenue in electrical — predictable cash flow that pushes multiples into the top tier.
EV / solar / data-center specialty
Documented EV-charging, commercial solar, or data-center low-voltage capability attracts strategic acquirers and a premium multiple for the structural tailwind.
Commercial revenue mix
A strong commercial weighting is one of the biggest value drivers — consolidators specifically hunt for it.
Credentialed workforce & backlog
A deep licensed/credentialed bench plus a signed backlog gives buyers post-close revenue visibility and de-risks the transition.
Management depth
A real operating team beneath the owner converts the business from a job into an asset and reverses the owner-dependency discount.
Diversified customer base
No single customer dominating revenue — concentration is priced as risk, especially on large commercial accounts.
What pulls value down.
Project-only, no service
Pure project work is lumpy and harder to underwrite. Without recurring service, buyers apply the bottom of the range.
Owner-controlled estimating
If you personally win and price the work, the relationships and judgment leave with you — a meaningful discount.
Customer concentration
A single large commercial or GC relationship over ~20% of revenue is a flag buyers price carefully.
Who’s buying
The buyers for your electrical business.
Private equity dominates electrical M&A today, both through dedicated electrical platforms and the multi-trade roll-ups that also buy HVAC and plumbing. What's unique to electrical is the strategic buyer pool drawn by the energy transition — solar and EV installer networks and energy-platform aggregators that will pay up for specialty capability. Add regional strategics and long-term holding companies like Chisel, and electrical owners with the right mix have unusually strong leverage.
Compare every buyer type in the full guide →Estimate your value
Get a electrical range in 30 seconds.
Pre-set to electrical. Enter a few numbers from your P&L for a starting range — then get a free, specific indication of value from operators who know the trade.
Get a real numberQuick value estimator
Estimate only
Enter your numbers to see a range.
Add your profit, your pay, and any add-backs — we’ll estimate your earnings and apply a typical multiple for your trade and size.
A rough starting point, not an offer or appraisal. Real value depends on recurring revenue, owner dependency, growth, and clean books. For a free, specific indication of value, talk to us.
Get a real number →Electrical seller questions
Electrical-specific questions.
For the universal stuff — taxes, deal structures, the full process — see the complete selling guide.
Owner-operator electrical businesses typically sell at 3×–5× SDE, established shops with a service department at 5×–8× EBITDA, and commercially weighted or data-center-exposed operations with backlog at 8×–9× or more. Service mix, commercial weighting, and specialty (EV/solar/data center) capability are the biggest swing factors.
Yes. Documented EV-charging, commercial solar, or data-center low-voltage revenue attracts strategic buyers — installer networks and energy aggregators — who pay premiums for exposure to a multi-year growth trend. It can move you to the top of the multiple range and widen your buyer pool well beyond traditional electrical acquirers.
Service work, by a wide margin. Recurring commercial maintenance contracts are predictable and sticky, which buyers reward with higher multiples. Project-only revenue is lumpy and owner-dependent, so heavily project-weighted shops trade at the lower end. Building even a modest recurring-service department before a sale pays off.
Private equity now drives roughly 75% of electrical M&A — both dedicated electrical platforms and multi-trade roll-ups. Uniquely, strategic energy buyers (solar/EV networks, energy-platform aggregators) compete for shops with specialty capability, and long-term holding companies buy for the long haul. The right buyer depends on your mix and your goals.
Keep reading
The complete guide to selling.
This page covers what’s specific to electrical. The full guide walks through valuation, how buyers pay, taxes, the step-by-step process, a document checklist, and a plain-English glossary.
Read the complete guideReady when you are
A real number for your electrical business.
The estimate above is a starting point. For a specific, no-obligation indication of value — from operators who understand electrical — have a real conversation. No brokers, no pressure.
Free, no-obligation conversation
We respond within one business day
Complete confidentiality — always
No brokers required