Rentokil Announces Acquisition of Environmental Pest Service

READING, Pa. – Rentokil announced the acquisition of Tampa, Fla.-based Environmental Pest Service, an $82 million firm that ranked #15 on last year’s PCT Top 100 list. EPS is the parent company of Bug Out Service and Arrow Environmental.

The acquisition significantly expands Rentokil’s service operations in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. EPS employs 640 people, including 386 service professionals in 30 branches across four separate regions: East Florida; West Florida; North Georgia; and North Carolina.

"The Environmental Pest Service team has built an impressive company, committed to excellence in their pest control craft,” said John Myers, president and CEO of Rentokil North America. “We are expanding to meet the growing needs of residential and commercial customers across the Southeast with this acquisition. We look forward to welcoming the customers and more than 600 colleagues to the Rentokil family.”

Said Environmental Pest Service CEO Shawn Lucht, “We are thrilled with the opportunity to combine our incredible, customer-focused, high-performing team with Rentokil North America. Our mirrored cultures are a perfect match and will result in impressive future growth.”

George Pickhardt, Environmental Pest Service’s chairman of the board, partnered with Ken Hooten of Concentric Equity Partners in 2010 to significantly expand the platform Pickhardt took over from his father in 1992.  

“We are proud to have built an organization committed to serving both customers and front-line employees, and we are pleased to have Rentokil carry our mission forward,” said Rob Swartz, operating partner at Concentric Equity Partners.

LR Tullius represented and acted as exclusive financial advisor to Environmental Pest Service on the transaction.