Ezsa, one of Spain and Portugal’s largest pest and sanitation firms with over 140 employees, worked with PCO M&A Specialists to craft a deal with Swiss private equity firm Ufenau Capital Partners. Brothers and co-owners

Alberto, Javier and Ignacio Santamarta sold majority interest in Ezsa, taking significant chips off the table. They maintain minority interest in the company, which will allow them to profit again in the future upon total exit. We call this tactic “getting a second bite of the apple,” and that they will as their new partner has plans to grow the company significantly. The brothers are second-generation owners who have worked in both the production and management sides of the family business over the last 18 years.

About a year ago they decided to explore the possibility of selling their company. They could have sold the firm to one of the larger pest management companies, but they were interested in determining if it made sense to sell off a piece while continuing to work in the business, sharing in the upside.

With that in mind they engaged PCO M&A Specialists, a division of PCO Bookkeepers. The Santamartas met PCO M&A Specialists Managing Member Dan Gordon at PestWorld a year before and were familiar with Dan from his monthly newsletter and the PMP Industry Insiders podcasts he co-hosts. Ultimately, they choose to work with the team at PCO M&A Specialists because of their expertise in the pest control market and their flexible, consultative approach.

“We think they are one of the few specialty advisory firms in this sector that sets realistic expectations and works hard to meet those expectations, and this gave us a lot of confidence,” Ignacio says. “We asked other advisers, but (PCO M&A Specialists) were the ones we trusted the most and we thought they had the most knowledge of the market.”

PCO M&A Specialists brought several potential partners to the table, but Grupo Sasti, the platform company Ufenau Capital Partners has used to enter the market, seemed like an excellent match and an opportunity to expand. “It is a project that continues with the philosophy of Ezsa,” Ignacio says. “It fit a lot with the values and company culture that we have.”

Grupo Sasti acquired Ezsa in early 2022. “Now we are inside a much larger company, with more presence, which offers more services and there are greater possibilities for growth,” Ignacio says. With the addition of Ezsa, Grupo Sasti will be among the top three players in the pest control market in Spain and Portugal, with more than 400 employees. The founders of Ezsa will reinvest significantly in the group and will continue to be on the leadership team, helping to manage the business.

Overall, working with PCO M&A Specialists throughout the transaction was a positive experience that instilled confidence in Ignacio and his brothers. “From the first moment, PCO explained and helped us through every part of the process,” he says.

“When you start a process like this, you always want to play it safe, and working with PCO M&A Specialists gave us a lot of confidence.”

“When you start a process like this, you always want to play it safe, and working with PCO M&A Specialists gave us a lot of confidence.”