The former boss of BT is working on a secret private equity-backed takeover bid for the FTSE 100 pest control empire Rentokil Initial, The Sunday Times can reveal.
Philip Jansen is in talks with private equity firms over a plan that would see him installed as executive chairman of the faltering company, which issued a profit warning last October and saw the activist investor Nelson Peltz disclose a position as a top-ten investor last month.
Rentokil has struggled since its $6.7 billion acquisition of American rival Terminix in 2022. The deal gave the combined business a 30 per cent market share in the US but led to integration problems, including duplications on the routes that Rentokil’s drivers take when carrying out extermination work. It is