Who is buying pest control businesses in 2026: the public companies, the PE platforms and the SBA buyers

Part of the Pest control guide: buying, selling, valuation and who is buying.

Who is buying pest control businesses in 2026? Public companies that buy local firms every year, private equity-backed platforms, and individual buyers with an SBA loan. This post names the active ones, says what each buys, and links each to a public source. An owner learns who may call; a buyer learns who they are bidding against. It is part of our guide to buying or selling a pest control business.

Why are so many buyers looking at pest control?

Because most of the revenue repeats. Rollins said in its 2025 annual report that about 75% of its business was recurring services. Customers on a monthly or quarterly plan pay again without a new sale. Buyers and lenders can count on that.

The market is also split into many small firms. Rentokil, when it agreed to buy Terminix, said North America had over 20,000 pest control companies. A fragmented market with steady demand is what large buyers and private equity funds look for. They buy many small firms, put them on one back office, and grow the routes.

Which public companies are buying pest control businesses?

Two listed companies buy more pest control firms than anyone else.

Rollins (NYSE: ROL). Rollins owns Orkin, HomeTeam Pest Defense, Clark, Critter Control, Saela and other brands. Its 2025 annual report says it completed 94 acquisitions over three years, including 26 in 2025. It had 2025 revenue of $3.76 billion and more than two million customers. The report says it targets "high quality, profitable businesses with strong leadership" and loyal customers.

Its two largest recent deals were both Utah door-to-door companies. It bought Fox Pest Control in 2023 for $350 million including earn-out; see Rollins acquires Fox Pest Control. In April 2025 it bought Saela, with over $65 million of revenue and more than 250 staff, and kept it as a standalone brand, per Rollins's own release.

Rentokil Initial, through Rentokil Terminix. Rentokil bought Terminix in 2022; see Rentokil acquires Terminix. It still buys small firms. Its 2025 results, published 5 March 2026, say it bought 36 businesses in 2025 with about $63 million of revenue for $115 million. Twelve were in North America. It expects to spend around $200 million on acquisitions in 2026.

Which private buyers are acting like strategics?

Anticimex. Anticimex is a Swedish pest control group. Its June 2025 press release says it works in 22 countries with about 12,000 employees and 2024 revenue of SEK 16.9 billion. In that release it entered Texas by buying SafeHaven Pest Control of Garland, with Abby's Pest & Termite Services, and Metro Guard of Hurst.

Anticimex is not listed. EQT, a private equity firm, has been its controlling owner since 2012. EQT's own 2019 release on bringing in GIC as a minority investor says EQT remained the controlling owner. Anticimex often keeps local leaders and builds a state around them, as it did in Texas.

Arrow Exterminators. Arrow is not private equity backed. It has been family-owned and run since 1964, based in Atlanta. Pest Management Professional reported in October 2024 that Arrow had more than $413 million in revenue and 183 service centers in 12 states. It had just bought Spider Man Pest Control in San Antonio. That firm now runs under the Arrow name. Large family-owned firms like Arrow are a real option for a seller who does not want a fund as owner.

Which private equity platforms are buying pest control businesses?

A platform is a holding company with a private equity sponsor behind it. It buys local firms, often keeps the name and the manager, and adds shared software, buying and back office. Here are the ones we could tie to a public source.

Certus. Imperial Capital, a mid-market private equity firm, founded Certus in 2019 to build a pest control platform through acquisitions. In May 2024 Liberty Mutual Investments made a growth investment, alongside more from Imperial Capital, per the law firm Torys. Certus then had 21 branches in eight states. Its August 2025 release on buying EcoGen Pest Control in Las Vegas says it runs brands in 10 states. They include Las Vegas Pest Control, PURCOR Pest Solutions and Responsible Pest & Scorpion Control. EcoGen kept its brand and its team.

Aptive. Aptive, a residential pest control company founded in 2015, sold a majority stake to Citation Capital, a Dallas private equity firm, in August 2024. Its own release says it has about 4,000 employees and serves over half a million households. Terms were not disclosed. Aptive's finance chief said the deal would help "further advancing our M&A strategy". The founders kept a large stake.

PestCo Holdings. PestCo is backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners, a St. Louis private equity firm that invests in founder-owned lower-middle-market businesses. In May 2026 PestCo bought University Termite & Pest Control of Tucson, Arizona, as reported by Pulse 2.0. Terms were not disclosed. The owners said they had spoken to many companies before choosing PestCo.

These are not the only platforms. Many smaller funds back one regional firm and add to it. Their deals often go unannounced, so an owner may hear from a platform that has no press page at all. Ask any buyer who owns it, how many firms it has bought, and what happened to those owners.

Who buys the smaller pest control companies?

The most common buyer of a small pest control company is a person, not a fund. It is an operator or first-time owner who buys one company with an SBA 7(a) loan, a seller note and some cash. The SBA's 7(a) page lists changes of ownership as an allowed use and caps the loan at $5 million.

That cap shapes the market. A platform wants size, a manager who stays and clean books. Many pest control companies for sale are smaller than that, or the owner is the only licence holder. Those companies sell to individuals, who need the business to pay them a salary and cover the loan from day one.

Our AI scans 15+ business-for-sale marketplaces daily and screens each listing against a buyer's criteria. Most of our buyers close in 60 to 120 days. If you want to buy one, start at /buy.

What does each kind of buyer pay for?

Each buyer pays for something different, so one company can get very different offers.

1. Strategics pay for routes and customers. Rollins's books on the Fox deal put $118.0 million on customer contracts. A strategic that already serves your town can merge your routes and cut cost, so density near its own branches is worth most to it.
2. Platforms pay for a team that stays. A sponsor needs a manager, licensed technicians and clean data, because it will not run the branch itself. It will often keep your brand. Expect part of the price to be paid later or rolled into the platform's own shares.
3. Individual buyers pay for steady cash flow. An SBA buyer needs the earnings to cover the loan and a salary. They pay for a plan base they can prove to a lender.

The size of the price follows the deal size more than the buyer type. Our hub gives IBBA's closed-deal averages by size band; see buying or selling a pest control business.

How should an owner pick between buyers?

Start with what you want after the sale. Do you want to stay and run it, leave in a year, or keep a share? A strategic will often fold your company into its brand. A platform may ask you to stay and roll some of your price into its equity. An individual buyer will want a handover and often a seller note.

Then compare offers on more than price. Ask how much is cash at closing, how much waits on an earn-out or holdback, and what happens to your staff and name. Talk to a lawyer and a CPA before you sign a letter of intent; the structure changes your tax bill.

Owners who want help comparing buyers can tell us about your company. We are an advisory firm, not a broker-dealer or a lender.