ISS Group Acquires Sanitors, Launching Operations in the U.S.

The ISS Group, a facility services group, and Sanitors, a major U.S. provider of cleaning and other facility services such as building maintenance, landscaping, bridge tending and security, signed an agreement where ISS will acquire Sanitors, expanding its worldwide operations to 50 countries.

Sanitors, which has annual revenues of about $320 millio and 10,000 nemployees in the U.S., will maintain its headquarters in San Antonio and all 8 divisions throughout the U.S.  Sanitors will be renamed ISS Facilities Services Inc. and will continue under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Darrell Glover.

“By starting up operations in the U.S., ISS has fulfilled one of its most important strategic goals," says ISS Group CEO Jørgen Lindegaard. "We cannot pursue our ambition to lead facility services globally without operating in the world’s biggest economy. The U.S. economy has enormous potential for outsourced facility services, and ISS wants to explore the opportunities as an important part of the Group’s continued expansion.

“Sanitors is the right company to provide us with a new U.S. platform. It has a great reputation in the market and is a quality service provider. It has nationwide coverage and a consistent financial performance,” Lindegaard continues. “Furthermore, Sanitors is the right match for ISS, in terms of size, service mix and corporate culture.

“This is a large acquisition providing ISS with the necessary market leverage from the outset, yet it has a manageable size in line with our general acquisition strategy,” he adds.   

During the last 5 years, Sanitors, Inc. has grown its revenues by 20 percent annually, and the company’s organic growth and operating margin are in line with that of the ISS Group.

Glover founded Sanitors in 1978. He who will continue as CEO and country manager of the new ISS Facility Services.

“This is a great opportunity to maximize our potential within the U.S. market," he says. "Our current range of services combined with ISS’ global reach and expertise will open up new opportunities for us to provide our clients with a wider range of solutions and eventually a one-stop-shop for all their facility service needs."

The acquisition agreement was signed in San Antonio, Texas, the home of Sanitors’ headquarters. The acquisition is expected to be closed during June, 2007.