This is a friendly message to those in the private equity and search fund space, in hopes to save you (and us) a lot of time.
The pest control industry is a great business and I am very happy that you have interest in it.
We are contacted on a daily basis by private equity firms and search funds looking to get into the pest control industry. On very rare occasions (perhaps once per year), we include non-strategic acquirers in process. In the current environment (May 2018), it is almost impossible for financial buyers to compete with strategics.
With quality platform companies selling at 15x+ trailing EBITA and the extreme majority of sellers interested in 100% change of control transactions, there are not a whole lot of opportunities for non-strategic acquirers.
I am happy to answer your questions, but rather than calling, I ask that you use the contact section of this website to reach out to us. Further, you can sign up for the Potomac Pest Control Executive below and reply to one of my emails. Please keep in mind, we receive over a dozen calls per day from search funds, private equity and hedge funds.
Until the consolidation bubble bursts in North American pest control, you’re probably better off focusing on other industries / geographies as the strategics have wrung all the returns out of the North American pest control market.
Thank you for your interest in the pest control industry.