Anticimex acquires Eastside Exterminators

From left: Deanna Townsend, Eastside Exterminators owner; Alex Altizer, Eastside Exterminators owner; and Bill Talon, president of Anticimex South & West North America. PHOTO: ANTICIMEX

Anticimex expands into Washington with the acquisition of Eastside Exterminators.

Headquartered in Woodinville, Wash., Eastside Exterminators was founded by Ralph James Townsend Jr. in 1969. For the past 23 years, the company has been run by Deanna Townsend, the third-generation pest control operator of the Townsend family, and her business partner, Alex Altizer.

Eastside Exterminators has experienced solid growth throughout its 54-year history, with pest and rodent control operations throughout the Greater Seattle area. The acquisition closed on Oct. 16, 2022.

“Partnering with Eastside is a major milestone for Anticimex as we expand into the Seattle market,” Bill Talon, president of Anticimex South & West North America, said in a news release. “Eastside is a household name and a leader in the pest management industry, with a long-standing history and commitment to their customers and employees that perfectly aligns with Anticimex’s values of trust, passion, and innovation. With this acquisition, we see a significant opportunity to pair Eastside’s highly trained and dedicated staff with Anticimex’s cutting-edge Smart technologies, allowing us to provide even greater value to our customers. Together, we look forward to continuing our growth and further establishing ourselves as a leading provider of pest management services in the Pacific Northwest.”

With regards to the transaction, Townsend said in the news release, “Making the decision to sell was a life altering one, and I am at peace knowing that our family values will live on with Anticimex. It was important to me to have a company whose values aligned with ours and who would continue to take care of our employees and our customers.”

Altizer added, “When we looked at potential partners, Anticimex stood out as the clear choice. Their passion for the industry and dedication to their core values align perfectly with what we have been committed to at Eastside for the past 54 years. We wanted to take Eastside to the next level, and we knew that partnering with Anticimex would provide us with the resources and support we need to achieve that goal. In particular, Anticimex’s digital and sustainable pest control offering branded Smart provides us an edge going forward as we can now offer proactive and around-the-clock solutions for our customer base, all while they continue to receive world-class service. It was also important to know that our employees will now have even greater opportunities for career advancement.”

Kemp Anderson of Kemp Anderson Consulting represented and acted as exclusive financial advisors to Eastside Exterminators in this transaction.

“Our team at Kemp Anderson Consulting was honored to represent Alex, Deanna and the  Eastside team,” Anderson told Pest Mangement Professional. “They built one of the very best service companies and cultures in our industry. Pest control in the Northwest is challenging and unique. The leadership team at Anticimex took the time to recognize all of this and did an exceptional job with the transaction.”