Apparently Rentokil Initial has been looking at buying Steritech in the United States for six or seven years, but the opportunity has only just arisen. The company was founded in 1986 by John Whitley, who before that ran Rentokil’s North American operations. Andy Ransom, Rentokil’s chief executive, has indicated his willingness to expand into pest control there, a $7.5 billion market that accounts for half the global total.
It was the subject of a seminar for City analysts in May. This set out the advantage of increasing its footprint in various cities, which means greater productivity on the part of those operatives working on the ground.
This explains the hefty multiple that Rentokil is paying. The price, $425 million in cash, compares with an earnings