Limbach Buys 125-Year-Old Madison Contractor 1901 Inc. for $63 Million

What happened

Limbach Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LMB) announced on September 1, 2026 that it had acquired 1901 Inc., a union mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor based in Madison, Wisconsin. Limbach said the deal gives it its largest electrical operation to date. The purchase price and earnout were both disclosed.

Purchase price and payment structure

Limbach paid $63 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments, and funded it with available cash and borrowings under its recently expanded revolving credit facility. The deal also carries performance-based earnouts of up to $6 million, payable over the two years after closing if 1901 meets specified performance targets. The $63 million purchase price moves only through those post-closing adjustments. The additional up to $6 million depends on how the business performs under its new owner.

The seller

1901 was founded in 1901. It traces its roots to W.J. Hyland Hall and later H&H Industries, and it renamed itself in 2018 because of confusion with another H&H in the area. Paul Christensen, the chief executive, bought the company several years before that rebrand, and the company said at the time that its leadership and ownership were unchanged.

The company works across Wisconsin and the Midwest. It does design-build and construction work in mechanical, electrical, plumbing and controls, and it also handles fabrication, service and maintenance, and underground utility work. It has about 450 employees, more than 350 of them in the field. In 2020 Kramer Madison, the agency that handled the rebrand, put the headcount at nearly 200.

Christensen said joining Limbach "gives our team access to broader capabilities and resources while allowing us to continue serving our customers with the same local expertise and responsiveness they have come to expect." Since the close, 1901 has told customers that their services and contacts will remain the same.

The buyer

Limbach designs, delivers and maintains mechanical, electrical, plumbing and controls systems for mission-critical facilities in healthcare, industrial and manufacturing, data centers, life sciences, higher education, and cultural and entertainment markets. It has about 2,100 team members across 23 offices in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. It said 1901 strengthens its position in healthcare, higher education, industrial and cultural facilities. The deal came four weeks after Limbach bought CYMCOR, a data center program management and commissioning firm.

"1901 meaningfully increases our presence in the Midwest and adds significant mechanical, electrical and controls capabilities," said Michael McCann, Limbach's president and chief executive. The company said it "intends to apply its value-creation playbook by deepening customer engagement, identifying cross-selling opportunities and broadening service capabilities to improve margins."

Limbach's second Upper Midwest mechanical deal in 14 months

1901 is not Limbach's first contractor purchase in the region. On July 1, 2025, it bought all of the equity of Pioneer Power, an industrial and institutional mechanical contractor in the Twin Cities, for $65.7 million in net cash. Owners weighing a listed strategic like Limbach against a sponsor can read our guide on selling an HVAC or mechanical business to private equity.

What this means for mechanical owners

Limbach has now paid disclosed prices for two Upper Midwest contractors in 14 months, and both figures sit in its public filings. For a Wisconsin or Minnesota owner, that makes it a buyer whose recent prices can be checked rather than heard secondhand. The 1901 release also shows what this buyer named when it priced the deal: electrical, not only mechanical. An owner whose shop does its own electrical work alongside mechanical and plumbing holds the capability Limbach singled out. The structure is worth reading too: the performance-contingent part, an earnout of up to $6 million, was small next to the $63 million purchase price, and an owner negotiating with this buyer has a public example of that split.

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

Own a mechanical business with $5M–$100M in revenue? We’re glad to give you an honest read on what it’s worth and who would buy it — no pitch, no pressure. Get a free valuation.

Source: Limbach - https://www.limbachinc.com/news-events/press-releases/limbach-acquires-wisconsin-based-mep-contractor-1901-inc