Knaresborough-headquartered global pest control technology leader Pelsis Group has announced it will be acquired by specialist investment manager Pamplona Capital Management this September.
Pelsis has been owned for the past four years by Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.
During that period, LDC supported Pelsis’s international growth strategy, led by the company’s CEO Andrew Milner, which included three international acquisitions.
Today, Pelsis has a turnover of £150m and employs around 600 people across 15 sites located throughout Western Europe and the US. All values relating to the Pamplona transaction are undisclosed.
CEO, Andrew Milner, commented: “We are very excited to begin this new chapter for Pelsis together with Pamplona. Pamplona will actively support Pelsis in achieving our shared goals and growing further into the US and Europe, consolidating our position as a market leader and introducing new, innovative products to the market.
“Having met the Pamplona team, we look forward to working with them in driving the company’s further success.”
Established in 1984, Pelsis owns a portfolio of trade, professional and consumer brands including Edialux, Insect-O-Cutor, B&G, Curtis Dyna-Fog and Pest-Stop. In addition, the company has a wide customer base including Rentokil, Ecolab, Screwfix and Amazon.
Pamplona co-managing partner, Martin Schwab, said: “We are looking forward to partnering with Andrew and the management team of Pelsis and are impressed by the work they have done to build the company into an attractive growth platform in recent years.
“As a global leader in the highly resilient pest control market, we believe Pelsis is very well positioned to take advantage of the strong trend towards greater focus on health and hygiene, and continued growth and development of the pest control industry.
“Pamplona’s track record in supporting management teams in executing their strategic ambitions across both sides of the Atlantic and experience in carrying out bolt-on acquisitions ideally position us to support Pelsis for the next stage of growth.”
Pamplona is a specialist investment manager established in 2005 that provides an alternative investment platform across private equity and other diversified strategies. With offices in New York, London, Madrid, and Malta, Pamplona manages over $11bn in assets.
Dale Alderson, head of the North West at LDC, said: “We have greatly enjoyed our time working with Andrew and the team during the last four years to establish Pelsis as a leader, with international presence, in the global pest control industry.
“We are excited for their next chapter with Pamplona and wish both great success in achieving their growth ambitions.”
Pamplona received financial advice on the transaction from Houlihan Lokey and William Blair, and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal advice. LDC’s financial adviser was Rothschild, and legal advice was provided by DLA Piper.
