Landscape Management, December 2014

Industry Pulse A look at the 2014 headlines that could have a lasting impact on the green industry TruGreen On iTs Own and preparinG TO GrOw ServiceMaster completed the separation of its TruGreen business on Jan 14 The move was announced in November 2013 after the company reportedly lost 300000 customers in two years It was executed as a taxfree spin off to ServiceMaster stockholders In March TruGreen President David Alexander told the Memphis Business Journal the company planned to focus on execution and internal operations in 2014 and it will grow again organically and by acquisitions in 2015 dawn Of Brickman cresT When the Financial Times frst reported in April that the landscape industrys two power players ValleyCrest Cos and the Brickman Group could merge much speculation surfaced about what it could mean for the industry First folks were shocked But when they looked closer they realized it made sense following the November 2013 acquisition of Brickman by New York investment frm KKR None of these private equity guys like to hold on to things they invest in very long explained Bruce Wilson consultant with the Wilson Oyler Group and LM columnist They like to invest in something for fve or six years and then sell it to invest in something else ValleyCrest had been majority owned by MSD Capital Michael Dells private investment frm since 2006 Though the deal closed June 30 questions remain about how many details will shake out What brand will the merged entity retain Which companys structure and culture will be adopted Its likely 2015 will hold some of those answers TruGreen Landcares BiG hire Ijamsville Md based landscape maintenance frm TruGreen LandCare appointed Michael Bogan as CEO effective Nov 3 He spent 23 years with Brickman LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET December 2014 S14 before starting a consulting business in 2013 During Bogans tenure at Brickman he was involved with both organic and acquisition growth opportunities The appointment is a signifcant step for TruGreen LandCare which was purchased from ServiceMaster by Los Angeles based private investment frm Aurora Resurgence in early 2011 said M A expert Ron Edmonds of the Principium Group Expect acquisitions to come JOhn deere Landscapes makes mOves After being acquired last year by private equity frm Clayton Dubilier Rice John Deere Landscapes JDL made some news shaking up the executive team and acquiring companies Doug Black formerly with Oldcastle joined JDL as CEO The company also picked up several smaller competitors including Boston Irrigation Supply Co with fve locations in the Northeast The Stockyard Horticultural Supply in Arlington Tenn Diamond Head Sprinkler Supply in Honolulu and Eljay Irrigation in Calgary Alberta John Deere retains a 40 percent stake in the now standalone company which has more than 1 billion in annual revenue Industry observers anticipate a rebranding in its future scOTTs Lawnservice makes pesT pLay Scotts LawnService agreed to acquire Action Pest Control a residential pest control company based in Louisville Ky with operations in Indiana Kentucky and Illinois The transaction which is expected to close by January marks the companys frst acquisition of a residential pest control business Scotts LawnService with anticipated sales of approximately 260 million in fscal 2014 is currently the No 2 player in the lawn care category behind TruGreen Scotts LawnService expects the Action Pest Control business to do 15 million in sales in 2015 PHOTO isTOck cOm maleraPasO i