Howerton Plumbing Acquired by Blackthorn Capital in Two-Company Closing

What happened

Blackthorn Capital acquired Howerton Plumbing Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, in a transaction that closed on February 5, 2026. In the same simultaneous closing it bought a second Dayton-area business, Kirkwood Heating & Cooling, Inc. of New Carlisle. Both were asset purchases: Blackthorn bought substantially all of the assets of each business. The Kirkwood purchase also included the real estate tied to that company's operations. Tony Blackthorn, who launched Blackthorn Capital, announced the closings on LinkedIn in February. Chicago law firm Neal & Leroy, which represented Blackthorn, announced them on February 26. No announcement disclosed a price or other financial terms.

The seller

Howerton began serving Dayton customers in 1983 and works out of South Dixie Drive in Dayton. It covers Montgomery, Greene and Warren counties, from Kettering and Centerville to Beavercreek, Springboro and Middletown. Its work spans residential, commercial and industrial plumbing. For homeowners, that runs from water heaters, including tankless units, to leak detection, gas lines and slab leak repair. For commercial customers, it includes new-construction plumbing and remodeling. The company holds both plumbing and HVAC licenses and trades as Howerton Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.

The Howerton name is still in use, now paired with Kirkwood's: the two businesses present themselves as "Plumbing by Howerton. HVAC by Kirkwood."

The buyer

Tony Blackthorn launched Blackthorn Capital in late 2025, describing it as "an investment firm dedicated to acquiring and growing established, founder-led businesses." His career spans private equity, private credit, restructuring, and investment banking. He stepped away from an investing role in New York to build and operate businesses in his hometown of Dayton. He said the firm would focus on "partnering directly with small, family-owned businesses across Ohio." In announcing the two closings, he wrote that he was "grateful to the sellers for the opportunity to continue what they've built."

Neal & Leroy described the simultaneous closing as "a significant platform-building initiative for Blackthorn Capital in the essential home and building services sector." Corporate partners Brian Arnfelt and Matthew Sumner led the Neal & Leroy team, working with corporate associate Emily Crone and real estate attorney Jasmin Koleczek.

Kirkwood, the other half of the deal, has been in business since 1980. It runs from Bellefontaine Road in New Carlisle and provides HVAC installation, maintenance, repair and replacement to residential and commercial customers across Clark, Miami, Montgomery and Greene counties. It trades as Kirkwood Heating, Cooling & Plumbing.

Who else is buying home services around Dayton

In July 2025, Champions Group, a national provider of residential HVAC, plumbin,g and electrical services, acquired McAfee Heating and Air Conditioning of Dayton. Greg McAfee founded that company in 1990, and it kept its name under Champions. On February 17, 2026, twelve days after Blackthorn closed, Blackstone funds agreed to acquire Champions Group from Odyssey Investment Partners, with Odyssey and management keeping a significant minority stake. Within about seven months, one Dayton home-services company went to a national platform now headed to Blackstone, and two went to an Ohio-focused investor that bought them in a single closing. More on who buys home and facility services businesses and how.

What this means for plumbing owners

Blackthorn did not buy an HVAC company and add plumbing later. It closed on a plumbing contractor and an HVAC contractor on the same day. For a plumbing owner in the Dayton area, that means the business can be bought as one half of a matched pair with an HVAC shop, not only as an add-on to an HVAC company. It also shows that an asset purchase does not have to retire the name customers know: Howerton's brand stayed in front of them. If the building is part of what you would sell, Kirkwood's deal shows real estate can go into the same closing. That makes it a term to settle early when selling to private equity, not one to leave to the purchase agreement.

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

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Source: Neal & Leroy - https://www.nealandleroy.com/post/neal-leroy-represents-blackthorn-capital-in-simultaneous-acquisition-of-two-residential-services-e