***updated on March 3, at 9:20 a.m. (EST) with information from the recently released Rentokil Initial 2014 preliminary results***
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rentokil North America has acquired Orchard Park, N.Y.-based Buffalo Exterminating, a leading pest control company in Western New York. The deal closed on Jan. 6, and terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 1954, Buffalo Exterminating has grown to an $8.8-million operation with 100 employees working out of five offices, under the direction of owners Garry and Joanne Tank, and general manager John Zimmerman, who oversees the day-to-day operations. Garry Tank began with Buffalo Exterminating in the 1970s and bought the company outright in 1982, when it was only a $62,000-per-year business. It has since grown to become a PCT Top 100 company, ranking 80th on last year’s list.
Tank told PCT a number of factors led to his decision to sell, including his age (67); lack of successors; and having reached a saturation point in his market (Buffalo Exterminating holds a significant market share). Tank said he has long had a plan to “build the business and sell the business,” and he said that in recent years his focus has been on fine-tuning all aspects of the business in the event he would sell. After a number of his friends from Associated Pest Services began selling their businesses, including Jack Marlowe, former owner Eden Advanced Pest Technologies (which sold to Rentokil in 2012), Tank said he began to more seriously consider selling, eventually reaching out to Lance Tullius, partner, Tullius Partners, who facilitated the deal.
“We’ve had a good relationship with Rentokil and J.C. Ehrlich, including Vic Hammel (longtime Ehrlich owner); J.C. Ehrlich is a company that we have tried to mimic,” said Tank. “When I met with [Rentokil’s] John Myers and Alex Nigh, I felt a comfort level there. It seemed like it would be a good fit for our people and it would give them great opportunities, and that was very important.”
As part of the deal, for a one-year term, Garry Tank stays on board as president, Joanne Tank remains CFO and Zimmerman will continue to serve as general manager.
Tank, who resides much of the year in Jackson, Wyo., added that he will continue to be involved in the pest control industry, including attending Associated Pest Services events.
Rentokil Initial released on Feb. 27 its 2014 preliminary results, which noted that the Buffalo Exterminating acquisition “gives us a market leading position in New York state” and helps “build density in markets in which we are already active.”
Rentokil also noted in the release that “building density in the North American pest market continues to be a priority and during the year we expanded our geographic presence with seven bolt-ons in Indiana, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Washington and Oregon.”