Watsco Acquires The Granite Group for $505 Million in Cash and Stock

What happened

Watsco, Inc. (NYSE: WSO) announced on September 14, 2026, that it had agreed to acquire The Granite Group. Granite is a plumbing and HVAC distributor headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire. The merger agreement, under which Watsco acquired Granite Group Holdings LLC, was signed on September 12. The deal closed on October 9, and Watsco announced its completion on October 12.

The sale was also the exit of Granite's private equity investor, BBH Capital Partners. Ropes & Gray served as Granite's legal counsel.

Purchase price and payment structure

Watsco's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) puts the purchase price at $505.0 million, subject to a customary post-closing purchase price adjustment. Watsco agreed to pay 80% of the price in cash and 20% in shares of its common stock. The share count was set by dividing that 20% by Watsco's volume-weighted average price on the New York Stock Exchange over the ten trading days before closing.

Watsco issued 338,176 shares on October 9 in a private transaction as merger consideration. The largest block, 226,159 shares, went to BBH Capital Partners VI.

The seller

Founded in 1971, The Granite Group is a third-generation, family-led distributor run by CEO Bill Condron. The company operated as Central Supply in Worcester, Massachusetts, until 1998, when it moved its main office to Concord and took The Granite Group name. It serves about 11,000 customers from 82 locations in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, and stocks about 29,000 SKUs from more than 450 vendors. Its range covers plumbing, heating and cooling, pipe, valves and fittings, well and water systems, and oil and propane equipment.

Since 2010, Granite has grown through bolt-on acquisitions and more than 30 new store openings. When BBH Capital Partners invested in October 2021, in partnership with management and the Condron family, Granite ran 47 wholesale branches across New England and an e-commerce operation, plus 15 retail showrooms under The Ultimate Bath Store name. It added more than 35 net new branches during the five-year partnership. "BBHCP did exactly what they said they would do – supporting our growth strategy," Bill Condron said at the exit.

Under Watsco, Granite operates as an independent business and keeps its existing management team under Bill Condron. "Watsco was the logical choice for The Granite Group in that we remain independent while gaining access to Watsco's scale, capital, and the most advanced technology platforms in the industry," he said when the deal was announced.

The buyer

Watsco is the largest distributor in the North American HVAC market. Since entering distribution in 1989, it has acquired 74 businesses in the HVAC and plumbing markets, most of them multi-generation, family-owned companies. Its published buy-and-build strategy includes supporting acquired leadership teams and building "an ownership culture with long-term equity."

"For more than 50 years, the Condron family and their team have built a company defined by an extraordinary people-first culture," said Albert H. Nahmad, Watsco's chairman and CEO.

Watsco's second large acquisition of 2026

Granite is the second large acquisition Watsco completed in 2026, after Jackson Supply Company, an HVAC distributor with 25 Sunbelt locations, in June. It is also the fourth business Watsco has bought that serves contractors working in both HVAC and plumbing, and 112 of Watsco's 804 locations now offer both product lines. Watsco said the Granite deal "deepens Watsco's market position in the growing plumbing space." Our overview of selling a plumbing or HVAC business covers who buys companies in these trades.

What this means for plumbing and HVAC distribution owners

For an owner who already has a private equity partner, Granite shows that the partner's exit does not have to end the family's role in the business. A sale to a strategic consolidator let the investor sell out while the family-led team kept running the company, and the stock portion of the price ties part of what the sellers received to Watsco's performance rather than to Granite's own.

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 and HVAC distribution businesses in New Hampshire.

Own a plumbing and HVAC distribution 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: Watsco - https://investors.watsco.com/news-releases/news-release-details/watsco-acquire-granite-group-distributor-plumbing-and-hvac