Three deals. $46.3 million in closings.
A track record built across three closed transactions — a $23 million sale, a $20 million exit, and a $3.3 million close. Real deals, real roles, real outcomes. This is the operating and dealmaking experience Michael now brings to commercial HVAC sellers in Chicagoland.
- Michael has personally closed deals from $3.3M to $23M — across the full deal lifecycle.
- He has held an ownership stake in a company that exited, so he has been on the seller’s side of the table.
- He built this experience in one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country — the same operational discipline commercial HVAC sellers should demand from a serious buyer.
Built in cannabis. The discipline transfers directly.
Michael earned his deal experience in the cannabis industry — one of the most heavily regulated commercial sectors in the United States. That sounds like a different world from HVAC. It’s not. The work that gets a regulated business across the finish line is exactly what a sophisticated HVAC buyer should bring to the table.
$46.3M, broken down honestly.
Three transactions. Three different roles. One consistent throughline — clean work that closed.
The $20M Exit — Where I Had Skin in the Game
An ownership stake in a company that exited for $20 million.
This is the deal that matters most to HVAC sellers — because it’s the one where I sat on the same side of the table you’ll sit on. I was a 10% equity partner in the business. I had real money at risk, real upside if it worked, and real exposure if it didn’t.
My contribution focused on the two areas where the deal would either live or die: licensing (the regulatory backbone of the business) and operations (helping build the day-to-day discipline that would survive a buyer’s scrutiny). When the strategic acquirer closed, I personally walked away with $2 million from my equity stake.
The lesson I carry into every HVAC conversation today is simple: the things that determine whether a deal closes at the price you want are mostly built years before anyone signs an LOI. Clean licensing. Documented operations. A team that can run without the owner. That’s the work — and that’s the work I now help HVAC sellers prepare for.
The $23M Sale — Licensing to Close
A consulting engagement covering the entire arc of the business.
This was the most complete deal I’ve ever worked. I came in early, before the business was operational, and ran the full lifecycle: securing the operating license, then building out the operations needed to make it work, and finally running the sale process from buyer identification through to a $23 million close.
Unlike the $20M deal, I wasn’t an owner here — I was the consultant the principals trusted to take the company from a license application to a wire transfer. Licensing, operational stand-up, financial preparation, buyer outreach, negotiation, due diligence management, legal review, closing — all of it.
It’s the closest analog to what a well-prepared HVAC seller experiences from the buy side: a buyer who understands the full deal mechanics and runs them cleanly, instead of one who’s learning on the job at the seller’s expense.
The $3.3M Sale — Process Discipline at Smaller Scale
A brokered transaction taken from listing to wire.
The smallest of the three — and a useful one to include because most HVAC owners don’t have $20M businesses. They have $1M to $10M businesses. This deal was closer to that range, and it required the same discipline in a smaller package.
I brought the buyer and seller together, managed the negotiation, ran the due diligence process, handled the legal contract review, and got the deal across the line. Clean, professional, and closed without drama.
What it proves is simple: the work doesn’t change at smaller scale. The deal mechanics that close a $23M sale are the same ones that close a $3.3M sale. The only thing that changes is whether the people running the deal know how to actually do it.
The five-stage methodology I apply to every deal.
Different industries. Different sizes. Same disciplined pattern. This is the playbook behind all three closings — and the one I now run on commercial HVAC.
Licensing & Regulatory
Operations & Systems
Financial Preparation
Deal Process
The Wire
Three deals. One consistent record.
Every one of these deals reached funds-wired closing. That’s the only outcome that matters — and the only outcome HVAC sellers should accept from a buyer.
What this track record actually means for you.
Three deals, $46.3 million in closings, and an ownership stake on the largest one. Here’s why that matters when you’re picking a buyer for the commercial HVAC business you spent decades building.
Want to talk to a buyer who’s actually closed deals?
Whether you’re a year out or five years out, the first step is the same: an honest, confidential conversation about your business, your goals, and what a clean deal could look like for you. No pitch. No pressure.
The same deal mechanics behind this track record are explained in plain language in the guides below — written specifically for HVAC sellers.
Eight workstreams, the QoE process, working capital traps, and a free 142-item checklist. The diligence playbook from someone who’s run it from both sides.
Michael MayesThe profit × multiple formula buyers actually use, the add-backs worth claiming, and how to benchmark against real Chicago market data.
Michael MayesYour team stays. Your brand stays. Clean deal structure. Here’s how selling to an operator is fundamentally different from PE.
Michael Mayes