Blackstone is betting on your local handyman

On February 17, 2026, Blackstone announced its decision to acquire Champions Group, a provider of HVAC services, from Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC, in a definitive agreement.

Who is the Champions Group?

Leland Smith founded Champions Group in 2000. They provide home services, including residential repair, air conditioning, heating, and HVAC.  The Champions group  has 1,800 fields, technically, and 150,000 active members.

Though the terms of the deal will not be disclosed until the first half of 2026, Reports from Bloomberg and other industry insiders have valued it at around $2.5 billion.

Given earnings of $140 million, the deal trades at 18.5x EBITDA, which is a very high value and high cash flow, especially in a recession.

Odyssey Investment Partners is making a large minority investment, signaling that it values the business and the benefits of Blackstone’s ownership.

Think about it. The home repair industry is a lucrative business. Someone is always going to have their bathroom fixed or have heating issues in the winter.

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The “perpetual” powerhouse: why BXPE is lowkey built different

The Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund (BXPE) is executing the Champions Group acquisition, which Blackstone’s 10-K says is designed for “privately negotiated, equity-oriented investments” that will leverage the firm’s institutional scale.

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Blackstone’s Perpetual Capital strategy crossed a large AUM threshold at the end of 2025, so BXPE isn’t pressured to the forced-exit timelines that make up traditional buyout funds.

Patient capital is required from the hundreds of local HVAC operators being rolled up, and Blackstone has the time & incentives to let compounding do its thing.

The broader asset management trend: less SaaS, more physicality

Blackstone’s total AUM reached $1.3 trillion at the end of December 31, 2025, yet the more interesting story is how Blackstone is deploying those numbers.

Within all the SaaS fears and AI craziness, Blackstone is ironically acting like an underdog, betting on “un-disruptable” labor. While you can use ChatGPT to ask ‘how to fix a burst pipe,’ you cannot replace human labor.

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It can be seen as almost a defense asset that has physical tangibility.

Champions Group has acquired brands like McAfee Heating and Bee’s Plumbing, and Blackstone aims to target “local mom-and-pop” shops under the Champions umbrella to reach a national scale.

For home services, the U.S. market exceeds $600 billion, but remains heavily fragmented, as most operators/businesses run on pen/paper workflows.

Blackstone is providing the institutional infrastructure to an industry that’s never had it.

The deal is being run by Blackstone’s Perpetual Private Equity Strategy (BXPE), which differs from traditional funds that are expected to sell companies in a short time period, such as 5-7 years.

BXPE is also meant to hold Champions Group “perpetual,” to focus on compounding growth and expansion rather than a traditional in-and-out.

Recent Blackstone (BX) insider activity: smart money is doubling down

Form 4 filings from February 2026 show key insiders’ share acquisitions, including Ruth Porat, a member of Blackstone’s Board of Directors.

At the leadership level, it suggests confidence in Blackstone’s pivot to tangible, not-so-easy-to-AI businesses far from being priced in.

Related: Bankrupt auto parts giant cuts 1,267 jobs

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