American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter)
Memphis, TN · CEO Dave Slott
How it operates
One of the oldest national residential HVAC and plumbing consolidators, operating under the ARS and Rescue Rooter names with 70+ service centers in 23 states and roughly 6,500 employees as of 2020. Unlike the newer brand-retention roll-ups, ARS has historically migrated acquired companies onto the ARS/Rescue Rooter master brand. Charlesbank Capital Partners acquired it in 2014, then in September 2020 sold control to GI Partners while co-investing alongside, with management reinvesting sale proceeds.
Tampa Bay brands (1)
Unique Air Services
Deal history in the region
- Acquisition Unique Air Services → American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter) (backed by Charlesbank Capital Partners)
Capital events
Recapitalizations, sponsor changes, debt raises, bankruptcies and exits at the platform level. These set the clock that local brands live on.
- recap — Caxton-Iseman Capital (later CI Capital Partners) and Royal Palm Capital Partners bought ARS/Rescue Rooter from ServiceMaster. [source]
- recap — Charlesbank Capital Partners acquires ARS. Year-level date only. [source]
- new sponsor — Charlesbank Capital Partners acquired American Residential Services LLC from CI Capital Partners and Royal Palm Capital Partners; terms not disclosed. [source]
- new sponsor — Charlesbank buys ARS/Rescue Rooter, owner of the St. Petersburg Tampa Bay branch. Charlesbank Capital Partners acquired American Residential Services LLC, the ARS/Rescue Rooter residential HVAC and plumbing platform, from CI Capital Partners and Royal Palm Capital Partners. Terms were not disclosed. ARS operates a company-owned ARS/Rescue Rooter Tampa Bay branch based in St. Petersburg that serves Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, so the transaction changed the ultimate owner of a significant Tampa Bay residential service operation without any local brand or transaction being announced. ARS said the new sponsor intended to accelerate growth and invest in its branches. ARS went on to buy Unique Air Services of Bradenton in 2016, its first named Tampa Bay-region local acquisition. [source]
- new sponsor — GI Partners joined Charlesbank as an investor in ARS. [source]
- recap — GI Partners becomes majority investor in ARS alongside Charlesbank, which sold the company and simultaneously made a new co-investment; management reinvested significantly. [source]
People
- Dave Slott — platform ceo. CEO of American Residential Services (ARS/Rescue Rooter) at the September 2020 transaction in which GI Partners became majority investor alongside Charlesbank Capital Partners.
- Don Karnes — platform ceo. CEO of ARS/Rescue Rooter at the time of the 2016 Unique Air Services acquisition, who enumerated the company's existing Florida footprint including ARS/Rescue Rooter of Tampa Bay.
Frequently asked
Who owns American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter)?
American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter) is owned by its investors — Charlesbank Capital Partners, GI Partners — together with management.
Which Tampa Bay companies does American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter) own?
Does American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter) keep the local brand names?
0 of 1 Tampa Bay brands we track still operate under their original names.
Is American Residential Services (ARS / Rescue Rooter) private equity?
Yes — it is a private-equity-backed platform (see the capital chain above).
Sources Verified — primary document
- GI Partners (2020-09-15) — press release. Memphis HQ, CEO Dave Slott, 70+ centers/23 states/6,500 employees, Charlesbank 2014 entry
- Charlesbank Capital Partners — press release. 2014 acquisition, 2020 sale-and-co-invest structure, still a current holding
- ARS/Rescue Rooter — company site. Corporate history page
- ACHR News (2016-05-02) — trade press. Karnes quote enumerating the Florida footprint; Memphis HQ; Dave Slott president and COO
- ARS/Rescue Rooter — platform site. ARS Tampa Bay market page
- GlobeNewswire (2014-05-06) — press release. Charlesbank's own announcement of the ARS acquisition.
- Better Business Bureau — other. Confirms the Tampa Bay branch is located in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County.
- Wikipedia — other. Background on the 2006 and 2014 ownership changes; used only for context.
Researcher notes: Corrects the research brief's 'Charlesbank/Foundation' framing: the 2020 majority investor is GI Partners. ARS's specific Tampa Bay branch history and any acquired Tampa brands were not researched — a gap. | CEO listed as of the 2016 transaction. Ownership sponsor at the time of the Unique Air deal was not established in the sourced material, so investor_slugs is left empty rather than guessed. | MERGE, DO NOT DUPLICATE: a buyer record with slug 'ars-rescue-rooter' already exists in data/raw/buyers_investors.json. This record exists only to carry the 2010-2015-window capital event (2014 Charlesbank) and the Tampa Bay branch evidence; fold capital_events and sources into the existing record rather than creating a second buyer.
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