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…)

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…)

Download this Article in PDF format

Many of you are currently wrestling with the following questions: What do I do about my loyal management team or my children who are working in the business, they don’t have enough capital to buy it from me? I’d like to diversify my wealth, which is largely locked up in my company, but I don’t want to sell my business now, what can I do? What most of you probably don’t realize is, there is a way for you to sell your business and still participate in future growth…. Or sell your business to your management team even if they do not have the necessary capital to do the deal on their own. (more…)

Download Massey / Sunair Services Purchase Agreement

This deal reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when George and Jerry were trying to sell their sitcom pilot to NBC and George took control of the negotiation process. George began by telling the NBC executive who championed their show that the network’s offer for the pilot episode was far too small and that he and Jerry have agreed to pass. Only to come back in a matter of days and beg for whatever NBC would pay. (more…)