Rentokil to acquire Western Exterminator

By Marty Whitford, Publisher & Editorial Director LONDON/ANAHEIM, Calif.. --  Rentokil Initial Plc has agreed to pay $114.6 million for the assets of Western Exterminator  Company. The deal, pending regulatory approval expected later this year, includes $99.6 million paid upfront and another $15 million within 18 months. Anaheim-based Western Exterminator recorded 2011 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $4.1 million and reported $36.7 million in gross assets. Founded in 1921 and employing more than 1,000 people, Western Exterminator recorded 2011 revenue of about $149 million, with approximately 40 percent generated by its Target Specialty Products subsidiary. Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Target serves the pest control, landscape, golf and nursery markets. In total, Western Exterminating employs more than 1,000 people and operates 36 offices across Arizona, California and Nevada; the trio of states it serves have a combined population of 46 million. London-based Rentokil, a leading global services provider, recorded more than $4.1 billion in revenue last year. "This acquisition significantly increases Rentokil's footprint in the world's largest pest control market and enables us to compete more effectively, particularly for customers looking for nationwide coverage in pest control or specialty chemical distribution," said Rentokil CEO Alan Brown. "We have taken our U.S. Pest Control and Products business from (annual) revenue of less than $30 million to $420 million through a series of successful acquisitions, most notably J.C. Ehrlich, Presto-X, and now Western, over the past seven years."