ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., is a public Fortune 1000 company that provides residential and commercial services. Its headquarters are located in Memphis, Tennessee after moving there from Downers Grove, Illinois in early 2007. Brands operated by ServiceMaster include: Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, ServiceMaster Restore, Merry Maids, AmeriSpec and Furniture Medic. The core services of the company include termite and pest control, home warranties, disaster response and restoration, janitorial service, professional home cleaning, furniture repair, and home inspections.
ServiceMaster has more than 7,000 company-owned and franchise locations around the world. It has 13,000 corporate employees and a franchise network that independently employs over 33,000 additional people. In 2007, the company had approximately 5,500 locations.
History
ServiceMaster was founded by Marion E. Wade, a minor league baseball player, as a moth-proofing company in Chicago, Illinois. It was incorporated in 1947 and expanded to franchised carpet cleaning in 1952. Its movement into business services makes it a large outsourcing company.
In the 1980s, the company experienced further expansion of the consumer segment of the business. During this time, ServiceMaster built on its original franchise business to form a network of branch and franchise-based service companies â" including Terminix, TruGreen and Merry Maids â" and other category-leading commercial and residential service brands, including American Home Shield. In 2001, ServiceMaster divested its management services businesses to focus more on its residential and commercial business.
A group of equity sponsors led by Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) acquired ServiceMaster in July 2007 and took the company private. In the same year, the company moved its headquarters from Downers Grove, Ill., to Memphis, Tenn., to better enable the corporate staff to work with all of its business units. Nikhil Varty was appointed chief executive officer in July 2017.
As of January 1, 2014, TruGreen is no longer a brand of ServiceMaster, opting instead to remain a privately held company. It became a part of Scotts Miracle-Gro in 2016.
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., the parent of The ServiceMaster Company, LLC, announced on June 25, 2014 that it had priced an initial public offering of 35,900,000 shares of common stock at $17.00 per share. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 25, 2014 under the ticker symbol SERV. The Company continues to be majority owned by private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, StepStone Group and Ridgemont Equity Partners, and JPMorgan Chase Funding.
ServiceMaster announced a relocation of their global headquarters from East Memphis to Peabody Place in Downtown Memphis in June 2016. Completion is expected by the end of 2017.
On July, 26, 2017, ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SERV, $42.18, Market Capitalization: $5.7 billion) announced plan to spin-off its American Home Shield business from its Terminix and Franchise Services Group into a separate publicly traded company.
Video ServiceMaster
Brands
- ServiceMaster Restore (established 2013): disaster restoration
- Rescue Industries and American Residential Services, now known as ARS/Rescue Rooter: RI acquired acquired in 1998; ARS acquired and merged with RI 1999; sold 2006
- AmeriSpec (acquired 1996): home inspection
- Furniture Medic (acquired 1996): furniture repair
- Merry Maids (acquired 1988): maid services
- Terminix (founded 1927, acquired 1986): pest control
- American Home Shield (founded 1971, acquired 1989): home warranty
- ServiceMaster Clean (established 1952): Janitorial and carpet cleaning
AmeriSpec
Amerispec is a franchisor which sells and supports residential and commercial inspection services franchisees throughout the United States and Canada, using the "Amerispec" trademarks and systems to provide inspection services for the home and office. It is a subsidiary of ServiceMaster. The company's main services are general home inspection, relocation inspections and nd commercial property inspections.
History
- 1987 - AmeriSpec incorporated in Orange County, CA
- 1988 â" begins to provide home inspection franchises. Since its inception, the company has conducted in excess of 2 million quality home inspections.
- 1980 to 2000 â" further expansion of The ServiceMaster Companyâs Consumer Services business formed a network of service companies, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, including ServiceMaster Clean, Terminix, TruGreen, Merry Maids, American Home Shield, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec.
- Jan. 2007 â" After previously being a wholly owned subsidiary of American Home Shield, the company was sold to the ServiceMaster Holding Company and was placed under the leadership of the other ServiceMaster Franchise Brands.
- 2007 â" Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. (CD&R), based in New York City, New York, acquired The ServiceMaster Company.
- 2011 â" Hank Mullany, former executive vice president of Walmart U.S. and president of northern U.S. Walmart, was appointed as CEO for all ServiceMaster brands. And, Thomas J. Coba, former COO of Subway, named President of ServiceMaster franchise brands, including: ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec.
Organizational structure
AmeriSpec has more than 200 independently owned and operated franchises in the United States and Canada. It is a subsidiary of The ServiceMaster Company, and was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of American Home Shield, another ServiceMaster company.
Maps ServiceMaster
Controversy
On July 24, 2007 a lawsuit was filed against American Home Shield alleging that "American Home Shield engaged in a pattern and practice of failing to fulfill its contractual obligation to its customers". In February 2008 American Home Shield announced a proposed settlement.
See also
- Disaster Kleenup International
References
AmeriSpec sources
- SMU Law Review: A Publication of Southern Methodist University School of Law. Southern Methodist University School of Law. 2002. pp. 1100â"1109. Retrieved July 31, 2017. (subscription required)
- Appeals, Georgia. Court of (1994). Reports of Cases Decided in the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia. State Library. pp. 669â"671. Retrieved July 1, 2017. (subscription required)
- Harrington, K.; Cohen, M.N. (1990). The 100 best spare-time business opportunities today. Wiley. pp. 11â"12. ISBN 978-0-471-61133-2. Retrieved July 31, 2017. (subscription required)