Certus receives capital boost from investment firms

Tampa, Fla.-based Certus Pest Control recently received a significant growth investment from Liberty Mutual Investments (LMI) together with a follow-on investment from Imperial Capital. The new capital will be used to accelerate its pace of acquisition in both existing and new markets. With the investment, LMI will join Imperial Capital as a strategic and capital partner to Certus. LMI is the investment arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group.

“Our partnership with Imperial Capital over the past five years has built a truly differentiated pest control platform that is fully integrated and delivering industry-leading customer service. I am excited that LMI is joining Imperial as a partner to support the tremendous growth opportunity ahead,” Dave Bradford, CEO of Certus, said in a news release. “After a two-year focus on integration and platform building, our team is now market-leading on all operational metrics and is energized to grow.”

Certus operates 21 branches nationwide throughout Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Certus in connection with its new growth capital investment.

About Certus

In 2019, industry veteran Mike Givlin partnered with Imperial Capital, a mid-market private equity firm from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Together they formed Certus, envisioning a new platform to partner with leading pest control companies across the U.S. and Canada. The company has brought more than 60 companies into the Certus family, all working together to serve its customers with the best pest control solutions possible.

About Imperial Capital

Imperial Capital is a leading mid-market private equity firm focused on North American opportunities to build or acquire growth-oriented platform investments in targeted industry niches within healthcare, business services and consumer services industries. Based in Toronto, Imperial Capital combines its deep industry focus, active portfolio management and strong partnerships with experienced industry executives to offer a differentiated approach to investing. With assets under management of more than $3.5 billion, Imperial is currently investing from its $800 million Fund VIII.