Acquisition multiples too high to buy; founder chose to start an HVAC business from scratch

Because PE roll-up activity drove acquisition multiples 'so high,' the founder found nothing worth buying and built a new HVAC/plumbing company from scratch instead of acquiring an existing one.

“most of the mid to larger companies have already been acquired. And so, the multiples, like last summer when I would have been looking, I mean, I didn't see anything worth buying. Like the multiples were so high is one aspect of that.”

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