Business acquisition opportunity
Commercial electrical contractor, the Carolinas
Anonymised as Project Lantern
Anonymised mandate, codename PROJECT LANTERN
Commercial electrical contractor, the Carolinas
Commercial and light industrial electrical contracting and service
Why this business is called Project Lantern
Project Lantern is a working codename, chosen at random by DealFlowAgent (DFA) and standard practice in mergers and acquisitions. It exists so the business can be discussed with acquirers, funders and advisers without naming the company or alerting its staff, customers and competitors. The codename is not connected to the company, its brand or its trading name, and searching for it online will return nothing about this business. Everything you need in order to judge fit is on this page in banded form. The company is named to one verified acquirer only, after the owner approves that specific introduction in writing.
A second-generation commercial electrical contractor working across the Carolinas for distribution, healthcare, education and light industrial clients. Work is negotiated rather than hard bid wherever possible, and the service division keeps the same customers in the building between projects. Not on the market, and no banker engaged.
Verified acquirers only. A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis. Identity is disclosed at the third gate, with the owner's written approval.
Indicative value range
$12M to $26M
Derived from comparable UK transactions in this sector over the last 24 months. This is a market reference, not the owner's number. The reserve is set separately and disclosed under non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- Commercial electrical contracting
- Region
- North and South Carolina
- Ownership
- Family-owned, second generation
- Outside capital
- None
- Structure sought
- 60% to 100%
- Adviser status
- Unrepresented
$18-24M
Revenue
11-15%
EBITDA margin
30-40%
Service and small works
Majority
Negotiated work
35+ yrs
Trading history
110-150
Employees
Self-performed
Licensed electricians
Disclosed under NDA
Backlog
Why every figure is a band
Companies on this register are real businesses with staff, customers and suppliers who do not know their owner is listening to the market. Exact figures are a fingerprint: a precise turnover, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to a single company. These bands are wide enough to protect identity and wide enough that a growing business does not fall out of its own mandate. Every band is verified against filed accounts and management information held by DealFlowAgent (DFA). Precise figures are released under a non-disclosure agreement.
01 Opportunity at a glance
What the business actually does
The company self-performs its electrical scope with in-house journeymen and apprentices rather than staffing through a labor broker. Service, small projects and preventive maintenance run alongside construction, which smooths revenue between project cycles and keeps the field crews busy in slower quarters.
Between 30% and 40% of revenue comes from service, small projects and preventive maintenance agreements with repeat accounts, with the balance from negotiated construction work for a stable set of general contractors and owners.
- Revenue mix
- 30-40% service and small works
- Largest customer share of revenue
- Under 15%
- Bid type
- Predominantly negotiated and design-assist
- Average customer tenure
- 8+ years
- Field labor
- Self-performed, in-house apprenticeship program
- Bonding capacity
- In place, level disclosed under NDA
- Safety record
- EMR below industry average, disclosed under NDA
- Outstanding litigation
- None disclosed
02 Why now
Sector timing
Electrical capacity in the Southeast is short. Data center, advanced manufacturing and healthcare construction have absorbed the available journeyman labor, and acquirers are paying for contractors who train their own people rather than rent them. Family-owned contractors of this size are typically bought directly, before any process starts.
Nothing distressed. The owners have set a reserve so only acquirers prepared to meet it are put in front of them.
What has changed for this owner
Nothing distressed. Two of the three owners are approaching retirement and the third intends to keep running the business. The decision was to test the market quietly, at a number set in advance, without unsettling customers or crews.
03 Financial profile
Three years, published as bands
Three years apart, published as bands, reconciled to reviewed financial statements, the work-in-progress schedule and the backlog report.
| Measure | Three years ago | Most recent full year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $13-18M | $18-24M |
| Service and small works share | 25-35% | 30-40% |
| EBITDA margin | 9-13% | 11-15% |
| Gross margin on service | Materially above project work, disclosed under NDA | |
| Work in progress | Schedule provided, underbillings quantified | |
| Owner compensation adjustment | Identified and quantified | |
Where the earnings quality sits
- Growth is organic, from existing general contractor and owner relationships.
- Work-in-progress is presented in full so margin fade can be tested.
- Field labor is self-performed, which protects gross margin in a tight market.
- No single customer represents more than fifteen percent of revenue.
04 The owner's position
Stated in advance, in writing
| Question | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Is the business for sale? | No |
| Would they transact at the right figure? | Yes, confirmed in writing |
| Reserve figure | Set, disclosed under NDA |
| Preferred structure | 60% to 100% of equity |
| Rollover appetite | Open to a meaningful rollover |
| Post-completion involvement | 12 to 36 months for the continuing owner |
| Management team | Field and project leadership expected to remain |
| Represented elsewhere? | No adviser, no other process |
What a reserve figure is
A reserve, as at auction. Before a mandate goes live, the owner completes a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and commits, in writing, to the figure at which they will engage seriously. It is private and it is never published. Nothing below it is ever put in front of them, so no acquirer is invited into a conversation that was never going to happen, and the owner is never asked to decline a low offer.
The reserve is disclosed to verified acquirers at non-disclosure agreement stage. It is a threshold for engagement. It is not an asking price and it is not a cap.
My father started this with two trucks. I am not handing it to somebody who will strip the shop and rent the labor.
05 Transaction process
The four gates
01
Acquirer verification.
Funding position, sector experience, prior completions and decision-making authority are confirmed by DealFlowAgent (DFA) before any company information is released. Unfunded parties and brokers acting without a named principal do not proceed.
No company information released
02
Non-disclosure agreement and financial pack.
A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure, the contract base analysis and the management structure. The company is still not named.
Identity withheld
03
Owner approval and introduction.
We put the acquirer to the owner with a written profile covering their intent, their integration approach and their treatment of teams in previous acquisitions. The owner decides. Only on their written approval is the company named and a meeting arranged.
Owner's written approval required
04
Indicative offer.
Acquirers who meet the reserve are invited to submit an indicative offer. Where more than one qualifies, we run a structured process from that point.
Reserve must be met
06 Which acquirers this suits
A strong fit, and not a fit
A strong fit
- National electrical and mechanical platforms entering the Carolinas
- Private equity platforms building a specialty trade group
- Facility services groups adding self-performed electrical capability
- Strategic acquirers with data center or healthcare programs in the Southeast
Not a fit
- Parties without committed capital at the indicative range
- Buyers requiring all three owners to exit at closing
- Structures weighted heavily to earnout tied to backlog conversion
- Acquirers intending to move to subcontracted labor
07 About the Off-Market Register
What this register is
How the register works, and where to start
The Off-Market Register carries companies that are not for sale, at prices their owners have already set. Each owner has completed a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and committed in writing to the figure at which they will engage.
Every acquirer is verified before they see anything, every document released is watermarked to the recipient, and every access is logged. Before a mandate goes live it is tested three ways for de-anonymisation, and all three tests must fail to identify the company.
If you own a business in this sector, start with the free valuation, read the sector valuation guides or speak to us confidentially. If you acquire businesses, request acquirer access.
08 Questions
Answered in full
If the owner is not selling, is this a waste of my time?
The owner has committed a reserve figure in writing and has agreed in advance to meet acquirers who clear it. You are seeing a business before any process exists, without a competitive auction and without six other parties at the table. What you are not getting is a motivated seller, and you should price accordingly.
Why are the figures banded?
Because precise figures identify the company. Exact revenue, a state, a service line and a headcount will narrow most sectors to one business. Exact figures are released at non-disclosure agreement stage.
Will I be told the reserve before I commit time?
Yes. The reserve is disclosed at non-disclosure agreement stage, before any meeting and before any diligence.
What financial information sits behind the bands?
Reviewed or audited financial statements where they exist, otherwise tax returns and management accounts, together with the contract or customer schedule. The quality of what is available is stated in the pack rather than implied.
Can I approach the company directly if I work out who it is?
Acquirers who circumvent the register are removed permanently and the owner is informed.
Who pays DealFlowAgent (DFA)?
The owner, on completion only. There is no charge to acquirers at any stage, and no fee is payable by anyone if a transaction does not complete.
Own a business like this one?
Every mandate on this register began with a ninety-second valuation and a conversation. No retainer, no exclusivity, and your company is never named until you approve a specific introduction in writing.
Request access to Project Lantern
Verification takes under a working day. On approval you receive the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis under a non-disclosure agreement. The company is named only with the owner's written approval.
DealFlowAgent (DFA)
Commercial and light industrial electrical contracting and service
Project Lantern is a confidential mandate on the DealFlowAgent (DFA) Off-Market Register. All figures are banded and verified against filed accounts and management information. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. DealFlowAgent is a trading name of BTB Holdings Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
