Percheron Capital Announces Formation of Pest Control Services Platform

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Percheron Capital, a private equity firm focused on partnering with essential services businesses, today announced the formation of its pest control services platform in partnership with industry veteran Mike St. Clair. The platform is focused on building a network of residential pest control services providers through acquisitions and organic growth in the pest control market.

St. Clair brings more than two decades of leadership experience in the pest control industry. He previously led sales and marketing for Rentokil and was a key member of the senior executive team that tripled North American revenue to more than $1.8 billion through organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. Prior to Rentokil, St. Clair held senior management positions for leading residential service brands at ServiceMaster, including Terminix.

“We are thrilled to partner with Mike to build a preeminent pest control services company,” said Chris Lawler, co-founder and managing partner of Percheron. “Pest control services are non-discretionary and benefit from long-term tailwinds, including increasing pest prevalence and demographic shifts favoring outsourced pest control solutions. These trends, in combination with the industry’s significant scale, recurring revenue profile and substantial level of fragmentation, make pest control a thematic investment priority for Percheron. Mike’s industry expertise, strategic vision and stellar track record driving organic, de novo and M&A growth make him an ideal partner to build a leading business in this attractive industry.”

St. Clair said he is excited to work with Percheron to form a market-leading pest control services platform. “Percheron is an optimal partner given the team’s significant experience in residential services and consistent history of supporting rapid growth at high-quality essential services businesses. We are committed to building the industry’s employer of choice and investing in our hardworking team members – through training, incentives and state-of-the-art tools and technology – to improve their effectiveness and create rewarding career paths. We look forward to leveraging our deep resources and operational capabilities to partner with premier businesses in the sector and support accelerated growth.”

This announcement represents Percheron’s debut venture into the pest control space (it has not yet made a platform acquisition). St. Clair said they understand the tremendous value of the strong brands and teams that many sellers have built, and Percheron will work with future acquisition partners to ensure the legacies of those businesses endure. Percheron is targeting a near-term investment in the space, and St. Clair said Percheron’s M&A strategy is to partner with “strong brands, teams and business that share our vision of working together to build a scaled, best-in-class pest control platform with a commitment to investing in our team members and becoming the industry’s employer of choice.”

While Percheron is new to the pest control space, it has previously made platform investments in a variety of essential services business, including veterinary care and residential HVAC and plumbing services.

Source: Percheron press release with additional reporting from Brad Harbison