CenterOak Partners: Buy Box & Recent Acquisitions

At a glance

Latest fund	CenterOak Equity Fund III, $1.1B (Aug 2024) S5
EBITDA range	$7M to $35M S3
Check size	$50M to $150M S3
Deal types	Platform, Add-on S3
Geography	United States S3
Sectors	Auto Services & Collision, Property Management & HOA, HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical, Pest Control, Accounting & Professional Services, Environmental & Waste

What CenterOak Partners buys

CenterOak Partners is a Dallas firm that buys middle market companies in business services, industrial services and consumer services, with a strong lean toward essential, recurring services. Its current companies include HomeTown Services (residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical), Grismer Tire & Auto Service, Entomo Brands (pest, termite and mosquito control), Village Green (multifamily property management), HK Solutions Group (water and wastewater infrastructure services) and NOW CFO (outsourced accounting). It does buyouts, recapitalizations, buy-and-build platforms and corporate carve-outs, and it has often been the first institutional investor in a family or founder-owned business.

Its stated criteria are $7 million to $35 million of EBITDA, enterprise values of $50 million to $500 million and equity investments of $50 million to $150 million, anywhere in the United States. Its third fund closed above $1.1 billion in August 2024. Smaller companies are most likely to fit as add-ons: CenterOak publishes add-on criteria for each platform, from independent tire and auto service shops to third-party multifamily property managers.

Recent deals

Announced in the 24 months before October 19, 2026.

Date	Company	Type	Sector	Source
Apr 2026	Grismer Tire & Auto ServiceMajority recapitalization of a 28-location, family-owned Ohio tire and auto service chain; CenterOak's fourth auto service platform	Platform	Auto Services & Collision	Source
Dec 2025	Turf Masters BrandsResidential lawn care platform sold to ExperiGreen Lawn Care	Exit	Landscaping	Source
Jun 2025	NOW CFOMajority recapitalization of a Salt Lake City outsourced accounting firm; CenterOak is its first institutional investor	Platform	Accounting & Professional Services	Source
May 2025	Brothers Pest ControlTampa-area lawn and pest company added to Turf Masters Brands, along with Calhoun Turf and Georgia Turf	Add-on	Landscaping	Source
Feb 2025	Shamrock EnvironmentalIndustrial waste and wastewater treatment company sold to a Republic Services subsidiary; last sale from Fund I	Exit	Environmental & Waste	Source
Jan 2025	Cardinal LawnsColumbus, Ohio lawn care company added to Turf Masters Brands	Add-on	Landscaping	Source
Jan 2025	Solid Ground SolutionsNew foundation repair and waterproofing platform based in Columbus, Ohio, funded from Fund II	Platform		Source

Portfolio by sector

From the firm's portfolio page S4.

Business Services

Guardian Access Solutions
HK Solutions Group
NOW CFO
Village Green

Consumer Services

Entomo Brands
Grismer Tire & Auto Service
HomeTown Services
Solid Ground Solutions

Greymont’s take

How CenterOak Partners fits a seller

CenterOak suits owners of essential service businesses, especially family-owned companies selling for the first time. Recent deals fit that pattern: Grismer Tire was a second-generation family business, and CenterOak was the first institutional investor in NOW CFO, Shamrock Environmental and Turf Masters. The Turf Masters founder is now a CenterOak operating partner and says the company tripled its earnings during the partnership.

Below the $7 million EBITDA floor, the realistic path is an add-on. CenterOak says it is actively looking for tire and auto service shops for Grismer, home service companies in the South and Central US for HomeTown, multifamily property managers for Village Green and foundation repair firms for Solid Ground. Owners should ask whether their brand and team will stay in place, as they did for Cardinal Lawns and Brothers Pest Control under Turf Masters, and how long CenterOak expects to hold before its next sale.

Questions owners ask

Does CenterOak buy property management companies?

Yes. It owns Village Green, a Detroit-based third-party manager of more than 40,000 apartment units, and says it is actively looking to add other third-party multifamily property management firms to that platform.

Does CenterOak invest in auto service businesses?

Yes. In April 2026 it bought a majority of Grismer Tire & Auto Service, a 28-location Ohio operator, which it called its fourth automotive service platform. Earlier platforms included CollisionRight and FullSpeed Automotive, both since sold.

What size company does CenterOak look for?

Its criteria call for $7 million to $35 million of EBITDA, enterprise values of $50 million to $500 million and equity investments of $50 million to $150 million. Smaller businesses usually join as add-ons to an existing platform.

Does CenterOak work with family-owned businesses?

Yes. Closely held and family-owned companies are one of its listed transaction types, and the firm points to partners who have run a family business themselves. Grismer and HomeTown Services are both listed as family-owned deals.

Sources

S1CenterOak Partners home page Accessed October 19, 2026
S2CenterOak Partners: About Accessed October 19, 2026
S3CenterOak Partners: Strategy and Investment Criteria Accessed October 19, 2026
S4CenterOak Partners: Investments Accessed October 19, 2026
S5CenterOak Partners Closes Oversubscribed Fund III at $1.1 Billion (August 26, 2024) Accessed October 19, 2026
S6CenterOak Partners: Village Green Accessed October 19, 2026
S7CenterOak Partners: Grismer Tire & Auto Service Accessed October 19, 2026
S8CenterOak Partners: HomeTown Services Accessed October 19, 2026
S9CenterOak Partners: News Accessed October 19, 2026

Compiled by Greymont Advisors from public sources, including the firm’s own website and press releases. Greymont is not affiliated with CenterOak Partners. Figures are as reported on the dates shown and may have changed. Request a correction