Case Study: Amalgam Capital Acquires Core Mechanical, Inc.

“Core Mechanical hit all of the key points we look for in acquisitions – the right market, the right customer mix, and the right management team to continue to lead. We will continue to enable Core to grow by leveraging our MechanAir shared services, our other brands in the Chicagoland market, and continue to provide the necessary capital to support growth on larger contracts.”

Phil Lynch, Managing Director Amalgam Capital

Axial Members

Member Type	Independent Sponsor	Investment Bank
Axial Member Since	2020	2013
Headquarters	Chapel Hill, NC	Lansing, MI
Axial Closed Deals	3	1
Axial Profile	View Profile	View Profile

The Business

Location: Chicago, IL

Description: Core Mechanical Inc. is a commercial heating, ventilation, plumbing and mechanical maintenance services business with offices in Chicago. Core Mechanical services preK-12 schools, colleges, airports, healthcare institutions, churches, park districts, and more throughout the Midwest.

Reason for exit: The sellers were looking to begin their retirement processes and had a strong operational leader in place to continue the execution side of the business such that MechanAir is able to support the management side and back-office needs to enable the growth of Core Mechanical.

Website  |  LinkedIn

Amalgam Capital is a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based, five-person independent sponsor investing in the Consumer Products, Retail, Distribution, Healthcare, and Industrial Manufacturing & Services sectors. Amalgam joined Axial in June 2020 to support their sourcing efforts to find businesses in the $20-$100M range.

After successfully using Axial to source their first two portfolio companies in 2021 — closing Hampton Roads Mechanical of Virginia and State Mechanical Services in August and September, respectively — Amalgam resumed the search for its next partner company in 2023. When Amalgam’s Managing Director Arun Shukla came across a project titled HVAC Mechanical Contractor Seeks to Sell Majority Position in October of 2023, he pursued the deal, which turned out to be Core Mechanical, Inc.

Core Mechanical was being represented by Gary Rakan of Vesticor Advisors, a long-time Axial investment banking member with offices in Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. Rakan used Axial to whittle down the buyer list, sharing the project with a select group of firms in early October. About six months after Core Mechanical came to market, Amalgam executed an LOI with the sellers in Q2 2024. The deal ultimately closed between the parties in October 2024, about one year after Amalgam’s initial pursuit.

Axial Deal Data