Merit Capital Group | Operator-Led Independent Sponsor

An operator-first foundation, with our own capital.

Merit Capital Group was founded by Mike Heilman and Ryan Pudenz, operators who previously owned and ran businesses with their own capital at risk, not financial engineers. Hands-on operational involvement and personal seller relationships are central to everything we do.

Merit Management Group, founded by our partners Mike Heilman and Ryan Pudenz, is a separately operated affiliate providing fractional finance, accounting, marketing, and operations support to construction and skilled-trade businesses. While Merit Management Group operates independently of Merit Capital Group's investment activities, the affiliation gives our team real-time operating visibility into the very verticals we target.

We acquire in tertiary markets and affluent metro submarkets across Iowa and contiguous states, and professionalize each platform on a proven operating playbook.

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"Operator-led strategy. Real-world experience. Scalable growth."

What We Do

Buy and build skilled-trades platforms

Two Verticals

MEP + interior retail & remodel

Where We Play

Tertiary Upper Midwest

Entry

4–6x EBITDA, relationship-driven sourcing

Exit Path

National consolidators expanding into our markets

How We Raise

Deal-by-deal LP syndication

Two verticals. Deep operating conviction.

We focus where we have the deepest operating conviction today, and as an independent sponsor, we retain the flexibility to pursue adjacent categories when the opportunity fits our playbook.

First Vertical

MEP — HVAC / Plumbing / Electrical

Recurring service revenue, technician-driven margin, regulated and replacement-cycle demand, and a fragmented competitive landscape still roughly halfway through consolidation.

Second Vertical

Interior Retail & Remodel

Flooring, cabinetry, tile, countertops, and full-service remodelers, riding the structural "improve, don't move" tailwind. Harvard JCHS projects a record $522B in U.S. homeowner remodel spending in 2026.

Four advantages consolidators can't easily replicate.

Our strategy is built around structural advantages in our geography positioning every platform we build as the natural acquisition entry point for national consolidators expanding out of the primary metros.

Tertiary Market Focus

We acquire in MSAs of 250K–1M that institutional capital has largely overlooked. Less competition, lower entry multiples, relationship-driven sourcing.

Pre-Consolidator Timing

National consolidators are concentrated in primary and secondary metros today. We're building platforms in the tertiary markets they'll need to expand into next by positioning Merit Capital as their natural acquisition entry point.

Simpler Labor Environments

Our geography is concentrated in markets with limited union presence and lower compensation complexity than the major metros. That reduces operating risk and supports more predictable margins through the hold period.

Operating Familiarity

Our principals also founded Merit Management Group, an affiliated firm supporting construction and skilled-trade businesses. The relationship gives Merit Capital direct, current operating insight into the exact verticals we acquire.

Buy. Professionalize. Grow. Exit.

Each platform follows a sequenced deployment over a 5–7 year hold, with operational levers introduced in priority order.

Year 1

People & Financial Discipline

People and financial efficiencies are focused on first including the leadership, accounting rigor, and reporting foundation everything else builds on.

Year 2

Systems & Infrastructure

Next, systems, operational efficiencies, and the marketing infrastructure turns a strong local reputation into a growth engine.

Year 3+

Growth & Refinement

Then we turn towards refined marketing, business development, bolt-on integration, and continued efficiency improvement.

The people behind the platform.

The Merit Capital Group team has over 50 years of experience in the areas of M&A, legal representation, corporate banking, business ownership and have managed over $750M of assets under management across 13 states.

Ryan Pudenz

Co-Founder & Partner

Ryan previously owned and operated businesses with his own capital at risk, and co-founded Merit Management Group, the affiliated operating firm serving construction and skilled-trade businesses. Ryan oversees Merit's acquisition strategy, platform operations, and capital relationships.

Mike Heilman

Co-Founder & Partner

Mike brings an owner-operator and corporate counsel experience from represented construction companies since 2013 across every operational model, transaction structure, and risk profile in the industry. Mike co-founded Merit Management Group and leads Merit's transaction structuring and risk oversight.

Kevin Lease, MBA

Principal

Kevin leads Merit Capital Group's acquisition pipeline, from relationship-driven sourcing and underwriting through LOI negotiation, due diligence, and close. Kevin manages the deal team and oversees transaction execution.

Partner deal-by-deal, with full visibility.

Merit Capital Group operates an independent sponsor model with deal-by-deal LP syndication, senior debt at 3–4x EBITDA, mezzanine and SBIC subordinated debt where appropriate, seller financing and rollover for alignment, and growth equity. Co-GP and GP-seed structures are available for capital partners seeking deeper participation.

Partner With Us →

Let's build something worth owning.

Whether you're a capital partner evaluating independent sponsors, a lender, or a founder in the trades considering your next chapter, let's connect.

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invest@meritcapitalgrp.com • (515) 461-9373 • Johnston, Iowa