Who is buying tree service companies?
12 named consolidator platforms are actively acquiring US tree service businesses; 8 of them are private-equity-backed. Typical tree service acquisitions price at 3.5x-5x EBITDA (2x-4x SDE for smaller owner-operated businesses), per published ranges from Peak Business Valuation, Green Industry Law and others. The most recent named acquisition tracked on this page closed in August 2026.
Why tree service companies are consolidating
- •The US tree trimming services industry is estimated at $26.0 billion in 2026, spread across 19,929 businesses, according to IBISWorld.
- •Tree care is fragmented, with many independent companies rather than a few dominant national players and low market-share concentration, which creates an opportunity for consolidation, according to TCI Magazine of the Tree Care Industry Association.
- •In the adjacent landscaping sector, private equity was involved in 78 of 108 US and Canadian landscaping-services transactions through September 2025, according to Hyde Park Capital as reported by TCI Magazine.
- •Under CI Capital Partners' ownership, SavATree grew from 28 branches in 12 states to 58 branches serving 27 states through organic growth and 27 add-on acquisitions, according to CI Capital Partners.
- •Tree Guardians, founded in 2023, had partnered with nine tree care companies in the 15 months before January 2025, according to an article Halle Capital republished from TCI Magazine.
The platforms consolidating tree service companies
The named groups acquiring US tree service businesses, with their current owner and a source for each. Most grow through individual partnerships that are not separately disclosed; where a platform publishes named deals, recent ones are listed.
| Acquirer | Owner / backer | Type | Headquarters | Latest named deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tree Guardians | Halle Capital | Private equity | New York, NY | Jun 2026 |
| Bartlett Tree Experts (The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company) | Bartlett family | Strategic / family-owned | Stamford, CT | Jun 2026 |
| SavATree | Apax Partners (funds advised by Apax) | Private equity | Bedford Hills, NY | Jan 2025 |
| The Davey Tree Expert Company | Employees (employee-owned) | Employee-owned (ESOP) | Kent, OH | May 2026 |
| TreeServe | Soundcore Capital Partners (Fund III) | Private equity | Jacksonville, FL | Dec 2025 |
| Arbor Alliance (formerly Northside Tree Professionals) | Caravel Capital (growth equity investment) | Private equity | Atlanta, GA | Aug 2026 |
| Canopy Service Partners | Alpine Investors | Private equity | Chicago, IL | May 2025 |
| XKIG (Xylem Tree Experts) | Sterling Investment Partners (single-asset continuation vehicle co-led by HarbourVest Partners, StepStone Group and ICONIQ) | Private equity | Norfolk, VA | Oct 2025 |
| Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC | Asplundh family | Strategic / family-owned | Willow Grove, PA | Oct 2025 |
| Community Tree Service | Hastings Equity Partners (Fund V) | Private equity | Watsonville, CA | Oct 2024 |
| LawnPRO Partners | Oridian Capital Partners (formerly HCI Equity Partners), majority owner | Private equity | Atlanta, GA | Jul 2025 |
| RTEC Treecare | Locally owned (owner not named in source) | Strategic / family-owned | Falls Church, VA | Jun 2026 |
Tree Guardians
Private equity- Owner
- Halle Capital
- Headquarters
- New York, NY
- Scale
- partnered with nine tree care companies in the 15 months before January 2025
The most active residential buyer in 2024 to 2026 by count of announced deals. Its 2026 releases still describe it as founded by Halle Capital, and no sale or recapitalization was found.
Bartlett Tree Experts (The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company)
Strategic / family-owned- Owner
- Bartlett family
- Headquarters
- Stamford, CT
- Scale
- over 125 locations throughout the United States, in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario in Canada, in Great Britain, and in Ireland
Most of Bartlett's own press-release pages render only in JavaScript, so this list leans on trade press and search excerpts and may be incomplete. Bartlett Tree Service in Oregon is a separate, same-name company that Bartlett Tree Experts acquired.
SavATree
Private equity- Owner
- Apax Partners (funds advised by Apax)
- Headquarters
- Bedford Hills, NY
- Scale
- 100 branch locations, serving 44 states across the U.S. and British Columbia (SavATree social post, Sept 2024)
Apax ownership was confirmed in October 2025, when Apax partners sat on the board as a new CEO was appointed. No SavATree merger after January 2025 was found.
The Davey Tree Expert Company
Employee-owned (ESOP)- Owner
- Employees (employee-owned)
- Headquarters
- Kent, OH
- Scale
- over 12,000 employees
Davey describes itself as employee-owned. The Lewis Tree Service it bought is in Santa Cruz, CA. It is not Lewis Tree Service of Rochester, NY, the utility vegetation management company. Davey Resource Group's environmental and engineering deals are excluded.
TreeServe
Private equity- Owner
- Soundcore Capital Partners (Fund III)
- Headquarters
- Jacksonville, FL
- Scale
- tree care, plant and shrub health care, and lawn care services in six states (Sept 2025)
Soundcore formed TreeServe in April 2025. No 2026 acquisition was found; its only 2026 release found was a Chief Revenue Officer appointment in April 2026.
Arbor Alliance (formerly Northside Tree Professionals)
Private equity- Owner
- Caravel Capital (growth equity investment)
- Headquarters
- Atlanta, GA
- Scale
- multiple tree care brands across Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida (Aug 2026)
Caravel made a growth equity investment and did not disclose its stake, which may be a minority one. CEO Brian Hartman acquired Northside in 2022. A December 2025 acquisition in Jacksonville, FL was announced without the target's name.
Canopy Service Partners
Private equity- Owner
- Alpine Investors
- Headquarters
- Chicago, IL
- Scale
- Not disclosed
Canopy says it seeks partner companies with $3 million to $30 million in revenue. Its other named partners, such as Maguire Tree Care and Arbor Equity, have no published deal dates. Gray's sell-side advisor did not name the buyer, so the link to Canopy rests on Canopy's own partner page.
XKIG (Xylem Tree Experts)
Private equity- Owner
- Sterling Investment Partners (single-asset continuation vehicle co-led by HarbourVest Partners, StepStone Group and ICONIQ)
- Headquarters
- Norfolk, VA
- Scale
- employs over 6,500 individuals operating in 39 states (Oct 2025)
A utility vegetation management buyer. It acquires utility-focused tree companies, not residential arborists. Sterling recapitalized XKIG into a continuation vehicle in October 2025 and still controls it.
Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC
Strategic / family-owned- Owner
- Asplundh family
- Headquarters
- Willow Grove, PA
- Scale
- approximately 36,000 employees throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (2024)
A utility vegetation management company. Most of its 2024 to 2026 deals were utility-infrastructure businesses and are excluded. Fitzwater provides vegetation management and commercial landscaping.
Community Tree Service
Private equity- Owner
- Hastings Equity Partners (Fund V)
- Headquarters
- Watsonville, CA
- Scale
- Not disclosed
A vegetation management platform focused on utilities and government. Tracxn's and Crunchbase's 'Community Tree Service' profiles, which place it in Royal Oak, MI, describe a different company. No 2025 or 2026 sale or deal was found.
LawnPRO Partners
Private equity- Owner
- Oridian Capital Partners (formerly HCI Equity Partners), majority owner
- Headquarters
- Atlanta, GA
- Scale
- serves seven states across the US (Nov 2025)
A lawn-care-led platform that also offers tree and shrub care. It is an adjacent buyer, not a tree removal consolidator; its other 2025 deals were lawn businesses.
RTEC Treecare
Strategic / family-owned- Owner
- Locally owned (owner not named in source)
- Headquarters
- Falls Church, VA
- Scale
- Not disclosed
An independent regional buyer with one announced acquisition, not a roll-up platform. The company says it is locally owned and operated but does not name its owner.
Selling in your state?
What tree service businesses sell for, who is buying, and how many there are, state by state.
Frequently asked
What multiple will my tree service company sell for?
For owner-run companies, published guidance clusters at 2x to 4x seller's discretionary earnings. TCI Magazine and HedgeStone Business Advisors both cite 2x to 4x, and Peak Business Valuation cites 3.14x to 3.64x. On EBITDA, Peak cites 3.79x to 4.10x and Green Industry Law about 3.5x to 5.0x, though the firm says it has seen up to 9.5x. HedgeStone cites 3.2x to 6.5x.
Who bought tree service companies in 2026?
Tree Guardians bought King Tree Specialists (Groveland, IL), Rite-A-Way Tree Service (St. Charles, MO), Independent Tree (Newbury, OH) and Joseph Tree Service (Columbus, OH). Bartlett Tree Experts bought Bartlett Tree Service (southern Oregon), Olympia Tree Care (WA), Lee Gilman & Associates (Amherst, NH) and T.F. Morra Tree Care (RI). Arbor Alliance bought Thornton's Tree Service (Abilene, TX) and Druid Tree Service (Nashville, TN). Davey's Hartney Greymont division added Green Trees Arborcare (Wrentham, MA), and RTEC Treecare bought Integrated Plant Care (Montgomery County, MD).
What makes a tree care company worth more to a buyer?
TCI Magazine says the highest multiples go to companies with recurring commercial contracts that can run without the owner's day-to-day involvement. The final multiple depends on the condition of the equipment, the safety compliance record, the staff's expertise and the local market. The magazine adds that private equity buyers usually avoid businesses where the owner is the sole salesperson and top climber. Revenue that comes mostly from one or two customers is far less valuable.
How big does my company need to be to interest a private equity platform?
Canopy Service Partners, backed by Alpine Investors, says it seeks partnerships with tree care companies generating $3 million to $30 million in revenue. Caravel Capital, which backs Arbor Alliance, says it invests in businesses with $1 million to $5 million of EBITDA.
Will my company name and crews stay after a sale?
In announced deals, they often do. Arbor Alliance said Druid Tree Service would keep serving all existing customers under the Druid name with the same production crews. Davey said Lewis Tree Service's employees would keep working with Lewis Tree as part of Davey's residential and commercial service line. A TCI Magazine article republished by Halle Capital says Tree Guardians encourages founders to remain active in their current roles.
Do utility vegetation management companies buy local tree companies?
Some do, mostly for utility right-of-way work. Xylem Tree Experts, part of XKIG and backed by Sterling Investment Partners, bought Bryant Tree Services (Live Oak, FL), TTS and Larch Tree Service (Canton, NY), Tree Care of New York (Buffalo, NY) and Thomas Contracting (Tennessee). Asplundh bought Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance (Dayton, OH) in October 2025. Community Tree Service, backed by Hastings Equity Partners, bought Southwest Contracting & Associates (Capitan, NM) in October 2024.
Methodology & sources
Compiled in October 2026 and checked against its sources a second time. The sources were press releases from acquirers and their private equity backers, platform and target websites, and trade press (Lawn & Landscape, TCI Magazine). Sources were found with Parallel search and read in full where the page would load; where a page did not render, the search excerpt of the publisher's own page was used. Each platform's owner was checked for a 2025 to 2026 sale or recapitalization. The deal list covers named US targets announced or closed from January 2024 through October 2026. A target's location is given only where the source states it. The list is not exhaustive, and buyers that do not publicize their deals are under-represented.
Multiple sources
- Peak Business Valuation (valuation firm), Valuation Multiples for a Tree Service Business: SDE ↗
- Peak Business Valuation (valuation firm), Valuation Multiples for a Tree Service Business: EBITDA ↗
- Green Industry Law (M&A law firm), Forests of Deals: The Rise of M&A in the U.S. Tree-Care Industry, Oct 2, 2025 ↗
- HedgeStone Business Advisors (business broker), Tree Service Business EBITDA Multiple ↗
- TCI Magazine (Tree Care Industry Association), Know What Your Business Is Worth, Aug 6, 2026 ↗
Market sources
- IBISWorld, Tree Trimming Services in the US (2026) ↗
- TCI Magazine (TCIA), Private Equity 101: The Basics for Tree Care, June 2026 ↗
- CI Capital Partners, sale of SavATree to Apax, Aug 31, 2021 ↗
- Halle Capital, Tree Guardians Leads a New Era in Arboriculture Partnership and Succession Planning, Jan 2025 ↗
Last updated October 6, 2026. Platform ownership last verified October 6, 2026. Ownership in this sector changes frequently; figures reflect the most recent public sources available and are not investment, legal, or tax advice.
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