Vanguard Building Solutions Acquired by CET, Will Take the CET Name

What happened

CET Energy Solutions, an electrical and energy services platform based in Worcester, Massachusetts, announced the acquisition of Vanguard Building Solutions on October 28, 2026. Vanguard, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was one of four companies in the announcement and the only one CET grouped under energy solutions rather than electrical contracting. The other three are Direct Electric Services of Mount Airy, Maryland, JDL Electric Company of Halethorpe, Maryland, and New Horizons Technologies of Sterling, Massachusetts. Vanguard will transition to the CET Energy Solutions brand name. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

Mike Sherman founded Vanguard in 2013, after serving as vice president of asset solutions for ARAMARK Healthcare. The company started in lighting and soon became a full-service energy partner doing HVAC work as well.

Vanguard takes facility owners and operators from energy audits through HVAC, LED lighting, indoor air quality, building controls, and solar upgrades, and it arranges the financing. It serves healthcare, industrial, commercial real estate, senior living, higher education, and multifamily markets, among others. As of 2024, it contracted with partner subcontractors to carry out installation work.

By 2024 Vanguard was a trade ally with New Jersey's utilities, including PSE&G, JCP&L, and South Jersey Gas, which means it works with the utilities to offer energy efficiency services across the state. It was also certified in New Jersey as an Energy Services Company (ESCO), which lets it carry out energy performance contracts with schools, municipalities, and other public entities. In March 2024, PSEG named Vanguard No. 1 for 2023 overall energy savings in its Small Business Direct Install program.

In June 2021, Vanguard acquired Wind Water & Energy Conservation, a veteran-owned energy services firm in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sherman said then that "the multi-family and low-income housing markets are a natural extension to Vanguard's existing portfolio."

The buyer

CET was founded in Massachusetts in 2008 as Commonwealth Electrical Technologies, a regional electrical contractor. Broad Sky Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, has been its majority investor since February 2025. CET Energy Solutions launched as the parent company in October 2026. With this wave it has completed six acquisitions and has more than 400 employees. It is licensed in 10 states across New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and CET said Vanguard expands its energy efficiency services nationally.

"CET Energy Solutions now brings together energy services firms that identify, engineer, and finance efficiency projects with a network of self-performing electrical contractors that can execute them, a combination few in the industry can offer," said John J. Duquette, CET's chief executive.

Which CET acquisitions keep their names

CET has split its brands by trade. Commonwealth Electrical Technologies and Horton Electric keep their established names. Direct Electric Services and JDL Electric will each retain its name and operate as "a CET Energy Solutions Company," and New Horizons Technologies will operate as Commonwealth Electrical Technologies.

The energy efficiency side has gone the other way. NuWave Energy Solutions, a design/build energy efficiency firm in Norwell, Massachusetts, founded by Ryan Blair in 2019, was CET's first acquisition under Broad Sky, in October 2025. NuWave is also moving to the CET Energy Solutions name. Owners comparing platforms like this with other sponsor-backed buyers can read our guide to selling an HVAC business to private equity.

What this means for energy efficiency owners

For energy efficiency owners, a platform that employs its own installation crews is a different buyer from another energy services firm: what it acquires is the front end of each project, from the first audit to the signed financing. An owner who already hires out installation is selling exactly that. On a platform like CET the company name is the piece that does not come along.

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

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Source: PR Newswire - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cet-energy-solutions-accelerates-growth-with-four-acquisitions-across-three-states-302921629.html