Scotts buys pest-control firm

The Bottom Line Other Business Features Local Stories from ThisWeek More Articles By JD Malone The Columbus Dispatch Monday October 20, 2014 4:55 PM

Scotts Miracle-Gro made good on a promise to buy a regional pest control firm this year.

Scotts agreed to buy Action Pest Control, Inc., based in Evansville, Ind., and will add the pest-control service which addresses in-home infestations of termites, ants and such to its lawn business. The acquisition will be complete in January, and it will add $15 million in annual revenue, Scotts said in a press release.

Action Pest Control, which does business in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, will become part of Scotts LawnService.

In February, Barry Sanders, Scotts president and chief operating officer, told analysts that the company was looking to buy a regional pest-control service and hoped to do so by the end of 2014.

Killing bugs and other pests has become a priority for Scotts. The company bought mouse-killing brand TomCat last year. CEO James Hagedorn bemoaned the lagging financial performance of the companys Ortho brand last quarter and said he wanted to find ways to boost the brands return.

Scotts tested an Ortho pest control service in Florida for over a year, according to the press release. Scotts officials were mum on whether the company plans to rebrand Action Pest Control as Ortho, but Hagedorn hinted at it in his comments.

Just as the Scotts brand has resonated with our lawn service business, the Ortho brand shows great long-term promise for home pest control, Hagedorn said in the press release. The demographics and economics of the service industry are strong strategic fits for our business. We are excited to complete the acquisition of Action Pest and see it as an important step forward in executing our long-term growth strategy.

Such a rebranding would make sense as Scotts also rebranded the lawn service, Emerald Green, which it bought in 1997.

The U.S. pest-control industry is dominated by Rollins, which operates under the Orkin brand, and ServiceMaster, which has the Terminix brand. The industry had revenue of $11.1 billion, according to IBISWorld, an industry market-research firm.

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Scotts buys pest-control firm