For more than 25 years, Dave Castro has been an industry leader in the New Jersey pest
market, building his firm Merlin’s Pest Control into one north Jersey’s most well-respected pest
management companies, while serving as an New Jersey Pest Management Association
president and board member.

The decision to sell

At age 61, Dave and his wife, Annmarie, decided it was time to retire and enjoy their life and
their new home in South Florida, and find someone to run the business who would care about
their customers and employees.

Dave knew that the current pest control acquisition market was extremely hot but had no idea
how to go about selling his pest control company for maximum value. He realized that he
couldn’t do it himself. While he knew the pest management business, he had no idea how to
value a pest business, structure a deal from a tax minimization prospective or how to navigate
the legal maze in consummating a deal that would give him maximum after-tax value and
protect him legally.

According to Dave, having PCO M&A Specialists represent him was really a “no brainer.” He
recognized that the pool of talent needed to move forward and maximize the after-tax value of
his company and protect him legally, both during and after the transaction closed, would
include a broker, a transactional/tax attorney, a CPA and an analyst, preferably with an MBA.
Led by CPA Dan Gordon, PCO M&A Specialists employs professionals with expertise in each of
these functional disciplines. No other broker in the industry has this depth of professional
talent on staff.

The sale

The PCO M&A Specialists team negotiated hard for Dave. They got him a deal that exceeded his
expectations and concluded smoothly, allowing him to get a high valuation and maximize his
after-tax proceeds. Dave says it best, “Getting a deal like this done can only go smooth with
seasoned professionals like the PCO M&A Specialists team.”

The experience

“Their expertise is far reaching and multidimensional,” Dave says. “They don’t just broker the
deal, collect a commission and leave you to your own accountant or attorney who may not be
familiar with how pest deals get done. They are a team of CPAs, analysts, MBAs and a
transactional attorney ready to help pest control business owners create a strategy to meet their goals. Their skill set includes determining value, marketing sellers to many buyers who
have significant cash, are ready to buy and who they have great relationships with. It’s a very
powerful combination of talent, and industry expertise that puts a seller in the driver seat.”