Lower middle market private equity firm

McNally Capital

At a glance

EBITDA range$5M to $30M S2
Check size$15M to $65M S2
Deal typesPlatform, Add-on S12
GeographyUnited States, Canada S2
SectorsIT Services & MSP, HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical, Industrial & Manufacturing

What McNally Capital buys

McNally Capital is a Chicago private equity firm started in 2008 by Ward McNally, whose family owned Rand McNally for nearly 150 years. It buys majority stakes in founder-, family- and management-led companies in two areas. Aerospace and defense covers national security IT, engineering and intelligence contractors as well as aviation service businesses. Industrial technology and services covers automation, engineered equipment and commercial mechanical contracting.

Its stated target is $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA and $15 million to $65 million of equity per deal, for companies based in the U.S. or Canada with managers willing to stay and invest alongside the firm. McNally now invests from Fund III, whose first deal closed in December 2025. Smaller companies can fit as add-ons: Foundral, its union HVAC contracting platform, seeks contractors with at least $10 million of revenue near its current markets, and Xcelerate Solutions added clearAvenue, a federal IT firm, in October 2025.

Recent deals

Announced in the 24 months before October 26, 2026.

DateCompanyTypeSectorSource
Aug 2026TENICA Global SolutionsMajority investment in a Chantilly, Virginia provider of IT engineering, cyber defense and digital modernization for intelligence and defense agenciesPlatformIT Services & MSPSource
May 2026A. Hattersley & SonsFort Wayne, Indiana piping and HVAC contractor added to FoundralAdd-onHVAC, Plumbing & ElectricalSource
Dec 2025Airforce Turbine Service (ATS)Texas PT6A turboprop engine repair and overhaul shop; first deal from Fund IIIPlatformSource
Dec 2025FoundralNew union mechanical contracting platform built on Smith & Oby and DSOPlatformHVAC, Plumbing & ElectricalSource
Nov 2025Spathe SystemsMerged with Quiet Professionals; the combined company is now EndurionAdd-onSource
Oct 2025clearAvenueFederal software, data and cloud services firm added to Xcelerate SolutionsAdd-onIT Services & MSPSource
May 2025Quiet ProfessionalsTampa defense analytics, cyber and intelligence contractor; the founder stays as CEO. Closed in late 2024 with Nio AdvisorsPlatformIT Services & MSPSource
Feb 2025Jewett Automation (now Thryve Automation)Custom automation and robotic systems builder; the last platform from Fund IIPlatformIndustrial & ManufacturingSource

Portfolio by sector

From the firm's portfolio page S4.

Aerospace & Defense

  • TENICA Global Solutions
  • Patriot Group International (PGI)
  • Airforce Turbine Service (ATS)
  • Endurion
  • Xcelerate Solutions
  • Orbis
  • FedData

Industrial Technology & Services

  • Foundral
  • Thryve Automation
  • Dedicated Computing

Past investments: Altamira, Genesys Aerosystems, Advanced Micro Instruments, ITS Logistics, Re-Sourcing, Europa

Greymont’s take

How McNally Capital fits a seller

McNally is a good match for owners of government IT and national security contractors, aviation service firms, automation builders and union commercial HVAC contractors who want to stay involved after a sale. Its criteria ask for a management team willing to remain and keep money in the business, and in the TENICA and Quiet Professionals deals the existing leaders kept running the company. Expect a majority sale, an experienced executive or industry partner added at the board or CEO level, and a push to grow through acquisitions.

Owners of Midwest HVAC mechanical contractors should read Foundral's published add-on criteria, which favor union labor and complex installation and service work. Questions to ask: which fund the deal would come from, how much equity the owner is expected to roll, and how McNally's Atlas playbook would change reporting and governance.

Questions owners ask

Does McNally Capital buy government IT services companies?

Yes. Its national security holdings include FedData, which sells IT products and services to defense and intelligence customers, and TENICA, a Chantilly, Virginia provider of IT engineering, cyber defense and digital modernization in which McNally took a majority stake in August 2026.

Is McNally Capital buying HVAC contractors?

Yes, through Foundral, launched in December 2025 around Smith & Oby and DSO. Foundral added A. Hattersley & Sons of Fort Wayne, Indiana in May 2026 and seeks union commercial mechanical contractors with at least $25 million of revenue for a new market, or $10 million for tuck-ins near Cleveland or Charleston, West Virginia.

What size company does McNally Capital invest in?

Its criteria list $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA and $15 million to $65 million of equity per deal, for a majority stake in a company based in the U.S. or Canada.

Does the owner have to stay after a sale to McNally?

McNally looks for strong management teams that are willing to stay and invest in the business. TENICA kept its leadership team and Quiet Professionals kept its founder as CEO after McNally invested.

Sources

  1. S1McNally Capital home page Accessed October 26, 2026
  2. S2McNally Capital: Our Approach and Investment Criteria Accessed October 26, 2026
  3. S3McNally Capital: Who We Are Accessed October 26, 2026
  4. S4McNally Capital: Our Companies Accessed October 26, 2026
  5. S5McNally Capital: News & Insights Accessed October 26, 2026
  6. S6McNally Capital Makes Majority Investment in TENICA (August 3, 2026) Accessed October 26, 2026
  7. S7McNally Capital-Backed Foundral Acquires A. Hattersley & Sons (May 21, 2026) Accessed October 26, 2026
  8. S8McNally Capital Makes Strategic Investment in Airforce Turbine Service (December 18, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026
  9. S9McNally Capital Introduces Foundral (December 4, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026
  10. S10McNally Capital and Smith & Oby add-on criteria (June 4, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026
  11. S11Strategic Investment in Quiet Professionals (May 21, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026
  12. S12McNally Capital: 2025, An Outstanding Year of Growth (January 13, 2026) Accessed October 26, 2026
  13. S13Xcelerate Solutions Acquires clearAvenue (October 7, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026
  14. S14McNally Capital invests in Jewett Automation (February 11, 2025) Accessed October 26, 2026

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

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