Fixed Star Capital

A permanent owner for the business you built.

Fixed Star Capital buys essential service companies from owners who are ready to step back, and then keeps them. Your company’s name, your people and your location stay.

Start a conversation See what we look for

The fixed star is the one point in the night sky that doesn’t move.

What stays the same

  • Your name stays

    The company keeps its name, phone number and trucks. Customers should see the same faces and the same service.

  • Your people stay

    Your technicians and office staff are the business. The plan is to keep the team together and reward the people who hold the licenses.

  • Your location stays

    No closing the shop, no moving the company across the state.

  • Nobody flips it

    There’s no fund deadline and no plan to resell. Fixed Star Capital buys companies to own for decades.

  • You choose the handoff

    Stay on for a few months or a few years, full time or part time. We agree on it in writing before closing.

What we look for

Established companies that customers rely on in any economy, usually because the work is required by code, contract or regulation.

Industries

  • Fire protection and life safetySprinkler, alarm, suppression, extinguisher and backflow inspection and service
  • Calibration, testing and inspection
  • Industrial controls and automation
  • Commercial HVAC/R service
  • Commercial door and dock service

The company

  • $750K or more in annual earnings (EBITDA)
  • Most revenue from inspections, service agreements or repeat customers, not one-off projects
  • Commercial, industrial or institutional customers
  • Licensed or certified technicians who plan to stay
  • An owner ready to step back within the next year or two
  • Anywhere in the United States

Run a strong service company that isn’t on this list? Reach out anyway.

How a sale works

  1. A private conversation

    A call or a visit to learn how you built the company and what you want for it and your team. Nothing to sign.

  2. A look at the numbers

    You share recent financials under a confidentiality agreement. You get a straight answer, quickly, on whether there’s a fit.

  3. A letter of intent

    A short, non-binding letter that spells out the price, how it’s paid and your role after closing.

  4. Diligence and closing

    We confirm the details with our lender and advisors, then close. Purchases are funded with our own equity and SBA bank financing, and some include a seller note so you share in what comes next.

Business brokers and M&A advisors are welcome to send opportunities.

Who we are

Fixed Star Capital is a St. Louis holding company that acquires and runs essential service businesses for the long term. We invest our own capital alongside bank financing, so there’s no fund clock and no plan to resell.

Our name comes from the fixed star, the point sailors steered by because it doesn’t move. That’s the kind of owner we intend to be.

Xavier Ransome

Founder and CEO

Xavier leads each acquisition and works directly with the company’s team after closing. His background is in engineering: he has spent his career building data and quality systems for federal agencies and for large aerospace and energy companies. He also owns Tech Leap, a data engineering firm.

Start a conversation

Every conversation is confidential, and there’s no cost or obligation.

St. Louis, Missouri