Rentokil targets PHS

RENTOKIL Initial, the £2.8bn pest control and services group, is considering a bid for PHS, its £500m rival.

PHS said this month that it had received a takeover approach, which was believed to have come from JP Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of the bank.

PHS, which provides offices with everything from washroom services to waste shredding, has attracted the attention of support services giant Rentokil as well as several private equity firms, understood to include Electra, Cinven and Clayton Dubilier & Rice.

Meanwhile, Rentokil, which issued a profits warning last week, is close to selling its laundry business, Initial Textile Services, to rivals Davis Service group and Johnson Service Group.

The deal will split the business between workwear and hotel laundry services and could value it at more than £100m.