Blackthorn Capital Buys Kirkwood Heating & Cooling and Howerton Plumbing

What happened

Blackthorn Capital acquired Kirkwood Heating & Cooling, Inc., an HVAC contractor in New Carlisle, Ohio, in a transaction that closed on February 5, 2026. It closed at the same time as Blackthorn's acquisition of Howerton Plumbing Inc. of Dayton. Both deals were purchases of substantially all of each business's assets, and the Kirkwood purchase also took in the real property associated with the business's operations. Chicago law firm Neal & Leroy, which represented Blackthorn, announced the two deals on February 26. No price was given in the law firm's announcement or in newspaper coverage of the deals.

The seller

Kirkwood has been in business since 1980 and operates from Bellefontaine Road in New Carlisle. It installs, maintains, repairs and replaces heating and cooling systems for homes and businesses, from furnaces and heat pumps to ductwork and indoor air quality equipment, and sells an annual maintenance membership, the Kirkwood Comfort Club, that gives members priority scheduling and repair discounts. Its service area covers Montgomery, Miami, Greene and Clark counties, taking in Huber Heights, Fairborn, Tipp City and Troy as well as Springfield. The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 1989.

Kirkwood now operates as Kirkwood Heating, Cooling & Plumbing under the line "HVAC by Kirkwood. Plumbing by Howerton," with plumbing work handled by Howerton.

The buyer

The Springfield News-Sun describes Blackthorn Capital as a private equity firm. Neal & Leroy called the simultaneous closing "a significant platform-building initiative for Blackthorn Capital in the essential home and building services sector." The firm's team on the deals was led by corporate partners Brian Arnfelt and Matthew Sumner, with corporate associate Emily Crone and real estate attorney Jasmin Koleczek. Neither Blackthorn nor the acquired companies replied to the newspaper's requests for comment.

Howerton, the other half of the pairing, was established in 1983 and works from South Dixie Drive in Dayton, providing residential, commercial and industrial plumbing. It now presents itself as Howerton Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, serving Montgomery, Greene and Warren counties, with heating and cooling handled by Kirkwood.

Who else is buying HVAC around Dayton

Blackthorn is not the only outside buyer to take a Dayton-area HVAC company in the past year. In July 2025, Champions Group, an Orange County, California provider of heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical services, acquired McAfee Heating and Air Conditioning, which Greg McAfee founded in 1990. Champions said McAfee would keep its name. Blackstone then acquired Champions Group in 2026, according to the Springfield News-Sun, which puts the McAfee brand under Blackstone. Owners weighing either kind of buyer can read our guide on selling an HVAC business to private equity.

What this means for HVAC owners

The two Dayton deals were built differently. McAfee joined a national brand portfolio as a single add-on. Kirkwood was bought on the same day as a Dayton plumbing company, and the two now market heating, cooling, and plumbing together while keeping both local names. The Kirkwood deal also shows how much of a business can change hands in an asset sale: the buyer took the operating assets and the real estate tied to them in one transaction. For a HVAC owners who also own the building, that is a live local precedent for putting the property on the table in the first conversation, not after a letter of intent arrives.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with HVAC businesses in Ohio.

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Source: Springfield News-Sun - https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/private-equity-firm-buys-dayton-home-services-companies/article_4c6e2fc5-9006-5a3d-9e5e-64d4fa43a1dd.html