MEMPHIS, Tenn.-ServiceMaster Global Holdings announced that it has completed the sale of its ServiceMaster Brands franchise businesses to an affiliate of investment funds managed by Roark Capital Management LLC for $1.553 billion.

With the completion of the sale, the company is changing its name to Terminix Global Holdings, Inc., and its stock will begin trading Monday, October 5, 2020 under the NYSE ticker symbol ‘TMX’. The transaction better positions both Terminix and ServiceMaster Brands to pursue their own distinct growth strategies.

“Today marks the beginning of exciting new chapters for both Terminix and ServiceMaster Brands,” said CEO Brett Ponton. “Terminix is moving ahead with a laser focus on being the preferred pest control company in the industry. We look forward to continuing to build on the progress underway to further enhance the customer experience that will drive consistent, profitable growth. We see tremendous potential to further capitalize on the powerful Terminix brand name, strong service culture, and significant scale to deliver greater value for all our stakeholders. Our talented team is energized and looks forward to forging even stronger connections with our customers and local communities.”

“With Roark Capital, the team at ServiceMaster Brands will have access to new opportunities to build upon their exceptional portfolio and trusted brand names, and we know they are destined to continue to achieve great things. We thank the team for their hard work in getting to this point, and we wish them well for the future,” Ponton concluded.

ServiceMaster CFO Tony DiLucente added, “The transaction will deliver substantial financial benefits, allowing us to right-size our balance sheet below our long-term target net debt ratio of 2.5 to 3 times. Increasing the focus on consistent execution in the Terminix business as a pure-play company will allow us to make faster progress improving the fundamentals of customer service. Those improvements will drive higher customer retention and produce consistent organic growth, profit margin expansion and free cash flow generation. In addition, while we will have ample capacity to pursue strategic M&A opportunities, our focus in the near term will be on bolt-on deals as we work to realize synergies from previous deals closed over the last few years. Under our new $400 million share repurchase authorization, we will have considerable flexibility to be opportunistic as we remain focused on delivering returns for our shareholders.”