Watch our latest webinar: Pest Control Valuation and M&A 101: Valuing a Pest Control Company

Question: I called a business broker who handles pest control companies and he said the buyer will pay his fee. How can he represent me, but get paid by the buyer?
 Jeff (from Florida)

Answer: The short answer is: he can’t. The reality is, he will be representing neither you nor the acquirer in the transaction. He will be representing his own interests and will be selling your business to the buyer who is willing to pay him the most. Not a good situation to find yourself in if you are selling your life’s work.

 Brokers who act as finders provide absolutely no value whatsoever to a seller. In fact, in a lot of ways, they cost a seller a tremendous amount of money. (more…)

View our new Webinar Pest Control Valuation and M&A 101: The Fundamentals of Valuing a Pest Control Business

After working together for years at Rockford Pest Control, Mark and Tim decided it was time to part ways. Tim asked his brother Mark to buy out his 20% share in the family business, which was left to the brothers when their father died.

After bickering with Mark over valuation for months, Tim decided it was time to get help. Tim’s first stop was the family accountant, who provided the brothers some rules of thumb for valuing the business. The accountant said that he was not qualified to appraise the business for a buy-out and that the brothers should seek the advice of an expert. Without further guidance from the accountant, Tim decided to call one of the business brokers who advertises in the classified section of a pest control industry magazine and commissioned an appraisal. (more…)

Potomac’s outsourced corporate development program is tailored to meet the needs of regional and middle market lawn and landscape contractors that, unlike the large national firms, do not have a full-time, in-house corporate development staff. Many middle market landscape companies understand that acquisitions are often the fastest, most cost-effective means of growing their businesses, but lack in-house expertise, cannot afford to divert key employees from their normal responsibilities or justify the expense of employing dedicated staff to run a value-creating mergers & acquisitions program. (more…)

Watch our latest Webinars on Value Creation and Valuation in the Pest Control Industry

Is Your Business Creating Wealth?
Is your business creating wealth or just providing you a paycheck? As a business owner, you have a duty to view the ownership of your company in the same way that you would view the ownership of any other income-producing asset, such as a stock, bond, or investment property. That is, your business must provide you an appropriate return on invested capital. If it is not providing you with a return, such as annual dividends or capital appreciation, you must determine why, otherwise you are squandering valuable time and resources and not building wealth. (more…)

Last year was a tough year all around, both in terms of business in general as well as M&A activity. However, as of the end of February, US M&A activity is up 46% from the same period last year, and was at the highest monthly level since July 2008. In this article, I take out my crystal ball and make some predictions for the rest of 2010 and beyond by examining some key themes and trends emerging that will impact the pest control M&A market, which include: (more…)