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Charlotte smart home installer wants 3.5x for a million in cas

2026-02-17 · 17:05 UTC ·Acquisitions Anonymous ·3 min read

Brief

Acquisitions Anonymous frames this Charlotte smart-home integrator as an ETA-style small-business acquisition with attractive headline economics but several underwriting caveats. The target generates $3.6 million in revenue and $1 million in EBITDA from high-end residential and commercial automation, AV, and specialty installation work, with project sizes spanning $20,000 to $100,000 and an 18-person staff handling execution. The asking price of $3.5 million implies a 3.5x multiple, which the newsletter argues is low for the category, especially given the company’s apparent reliance on referrals or channel relationships rather than paid marketing. The main structural complication is the optional $3.5 million real-estate purchase, including a showroom, which could materially affect normalized earnings if rent is below market. The piece also highlights diligence questions typical for service rollups and owner-led deals: how demand is sourced, whether skilled technicians are being paid enough to avoid turnover, and why the company has not secured electrical licensing if adjacent service expansion is truly compelling.

Why it matters

A Feb. 17, 2026 Acquisitions Anonymous newsletter profiles a Charlotte-area smart home / AV integration business for sale at what the authors view as a relatively modest multiple.

Key details

  • The company is advertised at $3.5 million on $3.6 million of revenue and $1.0 million of EBITDA, implying a 3.5x EBITDA multiple versus the roughly 7x multiples the newsletter says are common in comparable listings.
  • The business mix is 70% residential and 30% commercial, with typical jobs around $20,000 and specialty projects up to $100,000 for high-end home automation and audiovisual installations.
  • The operation has 18 employees, including technicians and project managers, reportedly relies on virtually no paid advertising, and the seller says leadership will remain after the transaction.
  • A separate $3.5 million real-estate package includes a showroom and can be leased or bought, creating an important underwriting question around whether seller discretionary earnings are adjusted for market rent.
  • The authors flag diligence risks around lead concentration, technician compensation and retention, and the lack of electrical licensing despite the seller emphasizing that opportunity multiple times.
Cleaned source text

title: Charlotte smart home installer wants 3.5x for a million in cas

author: Acquisitions Anonymous

content_type: newsletter

publication: acquanon.com

published: 2026-02-17T17:05:45+00:00

source_url: gmail://19c6c90b77c6cadc

word_count: 673

Owner's selling the AV shop and the real estate. Both might actually work. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 17, 2026 | Read Online

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Hey, Acquanons!

Charlotte's booming, and someone's finally cashing out of the smart home gold rush. This one's got legs—if you like the market.

This business is a $3.6M revenue home automation and AV integrator asking $3.5 million on a million in EBITDA. That's a 3.5x multiple in a space where most listings are trying to squeeze 7x out of you. The company does high-end residential and commercial installs—think $20K to $100K jobs—with 18 people on the crew and virtually no paid advertising. The catch? There's $3.5M in real estate on the side, and you'll need to decide if you want that too. Bill just dropped five figures on this exact service and has thoughts.

The details:

Revenue is $3.6M with $1M EBITDA; 70% residential, 30% commercial

Jobs range from $20K standard installs to $100K specialty projects

18 employees including techs and project managers; leadership stays post-sale

Optional $3.5M real estate includes showroom—lease or buy

No electrical licensing yet, but seller mentions it three times

Choosing a business means tradeoffs. Girdley is hosting a free webinar with friend-of-the-show Connor Groce, breaking down the hard decisions every business buyer has to make. Bring your questions!

The 7 Tradeoffs when Buying a Business.

Feb 25th, 12 CT / 1 ET

RSVP here.

If you're in the market, here are a few questions worth getting to the bottom of:

Is the SDE adjusted for fair market rent on that real estate?

Where do leads actually come from—builders, referrals, or a few big relationships?

Are techs paid appropriately for their specialization, or is turnover coming?

Why hasn't the owner added electrical licensing if it's such a slam dunk?

Listen to the episode

Catch Acquanon on Apple or give us a listen on Spotify. Or give the episode a watch on YouTube right here:

This Smart Home Business Checks a Lot of ETA Boxes ]( )

Thanks for reading!

The Acquanon Team

P.S. Looking at a deal soon? Need a refresher on financing options? Hop on Heather’s free Zoom SBA crash course \- runs every Tuesday! Sign up here!

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Feb 5 —Buying a business in 2026 w/ Chelsea Wood

Feb 25 — Small Business AMA (just Girdley)

See the whole schedule at girdley.com/lectures.

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