Cleveland, Ohio-based ChemLawn was established as a lawn care business in 1966. The business offered fertilizer, weed and pest treatment, among other lawn care services. ServiceMaster, a business that offers a variety of services like pest control, cleaning, and landscaping, purchased ChemLawn in 1992. Following the acquisition, ServiceMaster’s other lawn care business, TruGreen, was combined with ChemLawn.
The largest lawn care business in the US was formed as a result of the merger between ChemLawn and TruGreen. The newly formed business kept the TruGreen moniker and adopted the name TruGreen-ChemLawn. ChemLawn was purchased by ServiceMaster for $376 million.
But in 2013, ServiceMaster made the decision to sell its lawn care division, and it did so by selling TruGreen to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a private equity company. The price of the acquisition, including the assumption of debt, was $1.3 billion. As part of the agreement, TruGreen kept the right to use the ChemLawn brand for a while before dropping it and changing its name to just TruGreen.
Over 2.3 million clients in the US and Canada are served by TruGreen, which has its current headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The business provides a range of services, including fertilizer, weed and pest management, and tree and shrub upkeep. Additionally, TruGreen provides a number of lawn care packages that are customized to meet the needs of individual clients.
In conclusion, ServiceMaster purchased ChemLawn in 1992 for $376 million, and the two companies ultimately merged to establish TruGreen-ChemLawn. The ChemLawn moniker was finally discarded after the company was later acquired to private equity firm CD&R for $1.3 billion in 2013. Today, TruGreen serves more than 2.3 million customers and is the biggest lawn care provider in the country.