
It is not widely known but the company that purchased Clark pest control in the early ’90s was none other than the Rockefeller family! The Rockefellers had been in the business for years before they purchased Clark, but the company itself had not been in continuous operation for very long. It was formed in the early 1800s by William Clark and his two sons, Samuel and Thomas, who had made a fortune in the fur trade. The company was primarily known for its efforts to control the spread of malaria in the southern United States.
In early 2011, the privately-held Orkin pest control company purchased the company from its long-time owners, the Clark family. The company has been in business for over 50 years and has over 11,000 employees in more than 11 countries. In addition to pest control services, Orkin offers termite and water damage services.
When Bruce Clark decided to sell his pest control company, in 2006, he looked at a number of potential buyers. However, one company, Orkin, really got his attention. Orkin had recently been purchased by a private investment group called Chintrifugal. Chintrifugal had made a fortune in the technology business, and when it invested in the pest control industry, it looked to acquire a well-established brand name with a strong local reputation.
The company that purchased Orkin in 2001 was a division of Rollins, a company that specialized in the energy and security business. Rollins merged with another company that specialized in the pest control business to form Rollins Pest Control in 1998. Orkin was spun off as an independent company a few years later.
In 1996, Orkin merged with pest control company Clark. The company was originally founded in 1946 by Orkin employee, George Clark. Clark, who had served in the U.S. military, returned to his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, after his service to found the company.
The company was first founded in 1922 by Silas Clark. He started the company to take care of the pests his neighbors were dealing with. He bought out Clark Pest Control in 1947 when it was in its second generation. After being passed down through the generations, the company was finally purchased in 2006 by an investment firm.
The parent company of Orkin is the Atlanta-based Rollins Burdick & Partners. It was purchased by the California-based investment firm Rollins, Inc. in 1997. Rollins, in turn, was purchased by the French-based company Safran in 2002. Orkin is now owned by the French-based multinational Orkin.
The parent company of the Clark Pest Control Pest Management Company, The Orkin Pest Control, was purchased in 2008 by the Japanese conglomerate, Orkin. Orkin is one of the world’s leading pest control companies, with operations in more than 20 countries.
The new owners of Clark pest control are the multinational conglomerate Monsanto. The new owners decided to take over the company at the end of 2018, when it was previously owned by the private equity firm Equity3. Since the company’s inception in 1947, it’s been based in St. Louis.