The lawn and landscape private equity picture in 2026 looks dramatically different from a decade ago. Of the top 10 commercial landscape firms in the United States, six are now PE-owned. The largest residential lawn-care firm is PE-owned. Multiple regional roll-ups are running active bolt-on programs. EBITDA multiples for well-run, maintenance-heavy books have ranged from 8x for smaller add-ons to 14x for platform-quality businesses over the past 18 months. Here is who is buying, what they are paying, and what the activity means for operators sitting on a $5 million to $50 million book.
The short version
- 6 of the top 10 commercial landscape firms PE-owned in 2026, up from 2 a decade ago
- Typical EBITDA multiples: 6x to 8x small add-ons, 8x to 10x mid-market, 10x to 14x platforms
- Active platforms: BrightView (KKR / One Rock), Yellowstone (CIVC), SavATree (Apax), Heartland (Carlyle), Monarch (Audax), TruGreen (CD&R / Bain)
- Bolt-on activity averaged 6 to 12 deals per platform per year in 2024 and 2025
- 2024 to 2025 platform exits: BrightView take-private by KKR via One Rock, multiple secondary sales pending
- Multiples compressed roughly 1.0x to 1.5x from 2021 peaks but stayed historically high
Who is buying in 2026
The active platform sponsors and their portfolio companies break down roughly as follows:
- KKR / One Rock Capital via BrightView Holdings. KKR via One Rock took BrightView private in late 2024 at an enterprise value reported at roughly $4.1 billion, including assumed debt. BrightView is the largest commercial landscape platform in the US at $2.86 billion in revenue.
- Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and Bain Capital via TruGreen. The CD&R / Bain consortium bought TruGreen from ServiceMaster in 2017. TruGreen books roughly $1.9 billion and is the largest residential lawn-care company.
- CIVC Partners via Yellowstone Landscape. CIVC acquired Yellowstone in 2023. Yellowstone runs about $450M in commercial maintenance across the Southeast and Texas.
- Apax Partners via SavATree. Apax acquired SavATree in 2021 from CI Capital Partners. SavATree books an estimated $400M+ in residential and commercial tree and lawn care.
- Audax Group via Monarch Landscape Holdings. Audax has held Monarch since 2018 with multiple bolt-ons across the West Coast.
- Carlyle Group via Heartland LLC (a tree services platform).
- Aurora Capital Group via Park West Landscape Management (Southern California commercial).
- Sentinel Capital Partners via Berkshire Communities (combined landscape and property services platform).
- Madison Dearborn via prior holdings in adjacent services.
Several regional sponsors run smaller platforms. Trivest Partners holds a stake in U.S. Lawns (the largest franchise system in landscape). North Branch Capital, Riverside Partners, and HKW Capital each hold one or more regional platforms. Family offices and search funds account for a growing share of sub-$5 million deals.
What they are paying
EBITDA multiples vary widely by deal size, quality of book, and growth trajectory. The rough ranges in 2024 and 2025 looked like this:
| Deal type | Revenue range | EBITDA range | Multiple range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small add-on | $1M to $5M | $200K to $750K | 4x to 6x |
| Mid-size add-on | $5M to $20M | $750K to $3M | 6x to 8x |
| Large add-on / tuck-in platform | $20M to $75M | $3M to $12M | 8x to 10x |
| Mid-market platform | $75M to $200M | $12M to $30M | 10x to 12x |
| Premium platform | $200M+ | $30M+ | 11x to 14x |
Sources: PitchBook deal database, Capstone Partners landscape services market reports, Lawn & Landscape M&A coverage, sponsor announcements.
The variables that push a deal toward the high end of the range: high recurring maintenance revenue mix (60%+), customer concentration under 5%, route density, EBITDA margin above 15%, growth above 8% organic, geographic diversification, low founder dependency, strong second-tier management, clean working capital, and route software / billing systems already in place.
How the multiple compression has played out
2021 was the peak. Mid-market platforms in landscape services traded at 12x to 16x EBITDA in late 2021, driven by zero-interest-rate sponsor competition and a flood of capital chasing essential services rollups. As rates moved up in 2022 and 2023, multiples compressed roughly 1.0x to 1.5x across the board. The compression bottomed in mid-2024 and multiples have stabilized since. BrightView’s KKR / One Rock take-private at the end of 2024 closed at roughly 9x to 10x trailing adjusted EBITDA, well below the 13x to 14x range that comparable assets fetched in 2021.
The 2025 platform deals followed a similar pattern. Secondary sales (sponsor-to-sponsor) closed at 10x to 12x for quality books, with founder-led platforms at the lower end. Add-ons stayed at 6x to 8x for properly diligenced books. Anything that broke 12x in 2025 had a specific differentiator (commercial-only book with national customers, dominant water-restriction-state design-build practice, vertically integrated nursery).
What this means for sellers
For a $5M to $50M operator considering an exit, the market in 2026 still favors well-prepared sellers. The PE buyer universe is deep. Strategic buyers (the platforms above) are active. The combination produces auction dynamics that benefit sellers who run a proper sell-side process. The keys to maximizing multiple are unchanged from five years ago: 12 months of clean, normalized financials, route software and CRM in place, customer concentration documented and ideally below 5%, three years of EBITDA margin trend, and a clear story on growth runway.
The biggest mistake unprepared sellers make: trying to sell while still owner-operating critical accounts. Buyers heavily discount books where the founder personally services top customers because the post-close churn risk is obvious. Operators planning a sale 18 to 24 months out should be moving themselves off accounts and building a second-tier management team. See our coverage of Davey Tree and Ruppert Landscape for the ESOP alternative path.
What this means for buyers and competitors
For a regional operator not selling, the PE roll-up activity is a mixed story. Bolt-on competition for talent at the crew-leader and account-manager level has driven labor cost up 7%+ year over year (per BLS Employment Cost Index for landscape services). Pricing pressure on commercial contracts has tightened in markets where two or three PE-backed platforms compete head-to-head. But fragmentation is still real: the top 100 firms hold roughly 7.6% of total industry revenue, meaning 92%+ of the market is still independent regional and local operators.
For an operator looking to grow through acquisition, the small-end M&A market (under $5M revenue) is wide open. Sub-$5M deals rarely attract sponsor interest, so regional operators with capital can buy at 3x to 5x EBITDA from retiring founders. Search funds and family offices have moved aggressively into this segment and are paying 4x to 6x.
The bolt-on cadence
Active platforms run 6 to 12 bolt-on closings per year. BrightView’s pre-take-private cadence ran around 10 to 15 bolt-ons annually. Yellowstone closed 8 in 2024 and 7 through Q3 2025 per industry tracking. SavATree, primarily a tree-care platform, has historically run 5 to 8 deals per year. Monarch has been a more aggressive bolt-on buyer in the West Coast commercial space.
Typical bolt-on profile: $2M to $15M revenue, owner-operator at retirement age, maintenance-heavy book, 12% to 18% EBITDA margin, geographic adjacency to existing platform branches. Closing time from LOI to close runs 90 to 120 days. Earn-outs are increasingly common (typically 20% to 30% of deal value over 12 to 24 months) and have stretched as buyers got more conservative.
By the numbers: top platforms
| Platform | Sponsor | Revenue (est.) | Acquired |
|---|---|---|---|
| BrightView | KKR / One Rock Capital | $2.86B | Late 2024 (take-private) |
| TruGreen | CD&R / Bain Capital | ~$1.9B | 2017 |
| Yellowstone Landscape | CIVC Partners | ~$450M | 2023 |
| SavATree | Apax Partners | ~$400M | 2021 |
| Monarch Landscape | Audax Group | ~$350M | 2018 |
| Heartland | Carlyle Group | ~$300M | 2021 |
Sources: PitchBook, Capstone Partners, sponsor press releases, company disclosures.
FAQ
What EBITDA multiple should I expect on a $10M revenue maintenance-heavy book?
Roughly 6x to 9x trailing adjusted EBITDA, depending on customer concentration, margin, growth, geography, and quality of management. The high end requires clean financials, a maintenance mix above 60%, and a transferable book.
Are platforms still buying or is the market closed?
Open. BrightView, Yellowstone, SavATree, Monarch, Heartland, and the regional platforms are all running active bolt-on programs in 2026. The pace is slightly slower than 2021, but the buyer universe is still deep.
What is the difference between a platform deal and a bolt-on?
A platform deal is when a PE firm acquires a foundational company to build the rollup around. A bolt-on is a smaller acquisition the platform makes to add geography, customers, or capabilities.
Does my book need to be commercial to attract PE interest?
No, but commercial books tend to attract higher multiples than residential because of contract stickiness, lower seasonal swing, and easier route density math. TruGreen is the obvious counter-example on the residential side.
What killed deals most often in 2025?
Customer concentration above 15%, financial irregularities discovered in QofE, founder dependency on key accounts, and unverifiable EBITDA add-backs. Quality-of-earnings work has become more rigorous since 2022 and sponsors will walk on QofE surprises.
Bottom line
Lawn and landscape private equity activity continued through 2024 and 2025 at a slower pace than the 2021 peak but at multiples that still reward well-prepared sellers. The buyer universe includes KKR, CD&R, Bain Capital, Apax, CIVC, Audax, Carlyle, and a deep bench of regional sponsors. Mid-market platform multiples sit in the 10x to 12x range, add-ons run 6x to 8x, and the bolt-on cadence remains steady. For operators thinking about exit in the next 24 months, the market is open. The work is in showing up prepared.