Key Takeaways
- • Private equity firms are acquiring small local businesses such as pest control companies, dentists, coffee shops and veterinarians, and according to University of Chicago Booth professor Steven Kaplan, the trend has grown notably over roughly the last 10 years.
- • Kaplan estimates private equity owns on the order of 10% of the U.S. economy, though he notes explicit data on small-business acquisitions is hard to find because the deals are small and numerous.
- • EnviroCare Pest Control, founded by David Bisaillon in Watertown, Connecticut in 1999, was sold for multiple millions of dollars with the final sale closing October 6, 2025, and it now operates as Modern Pest Services, owned by Anticimex, which is in turn owned by EQT.
- • Business schools now run Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition programs in which graduates buy owner-operated businesses, often backed by private equity, as an alternative route for retiring owners who want continuity.
- • Kaplan argues private equity firms today focus on operational value creation rather than asset stripping, though he acknowledges raising prices too far risks losing customers.
Summary
Private equity investment in small, local businesses is expanding, according to a segment from WBUR's On Point, which examined the trend and its consumer implications. Guests included Steven Kaplan, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and faculty director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Brendan Ballou, a former special counsel for private equity in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division from 2020 to 2025 and author of "Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America."
The program profiled David Bisaillon, who started EnviroCare Pest Control in 1999 in Watertown, Connecticut with a single truck and $2,000 in savings. The business grew to 22 routes and 25 employees serving 250 to 350 customers per route. Bisaillon said he received calls and postcards from private equity firms and brokers every year before deciding to sell at age 58 after 26 years. He received three offers, and the buyer that was chosen separated the company into its component parts. He confirmed the sale was for multiple millions of dollars without disclosing the exact figure. The final sale closed October 6, 2025. The company no longer exists under its name; it is now Modern Pest Services, owned by Anticimex, which is owned by EQT, a global private equity firm with more than $400 billion in assets under management. Bisaillon said he ensured his employees had jobs, though retention was up to them.
Kaplan said explicit data on private equity purchases of small businesses is scarce, but the trend has increased, particularly through Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition programs at business schools, in which graduates, often in their 30s, purchase businesses from owners in their late 50s and early 60s, frequently with private equity backing. He estimated private equity owns roughly 10% of the U.S. economy across companies of all sizes. He contrasted current practice with earlier distressed buyouts of firms such as Toys "R" Us, Sears and Payless, arguing that modern firms focus more on value creation and employ operating professionals in the sectors they buy.
Kaplan acknowledged that small businesses often operate on thin margins, and that price increases can improve returns but risk losing customers if pushed too far. The segment framed the central consumer question as whether these consolidations improve or degrade service and pricing for local customers.
The program profiled David Bisaillon, who started EnviroCare Pest Control in 1999 in Watertown, Connecticut with a single truck and $2,000 in savings. The business grew to 22 routes and 25 employees serving 250 to 350 customers per route. Bisaillon said he received calls and postcards from private equity firms and brokers every year before deciding to sell at age 58 after 26 years. He received three offers, and the buyer that was chosen separated the company into its component parts. He confirmed the sale was for multiple millions of dollars without disclosing the exact figure. The final sale closed October 6, 2025. The company no longer exists under its name; it is now Modern Pest Services, owned by Anticimex, which is owned by EQT, a global private equity firm with more than $400 billion in assets under management. Bisaillon said he ensured his employees had jobs, though retention was up to them.
Kaplan said explicit data on private equity purchases of small businesses is scarce, but the trend has increased, particularly through Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition programs at business schools, in which graduates, often in their 30s, purchase businesses from owners in their late 50s and early 60s, frequently with private equity backing. He estimated private equity owns roughly 10% of the U.S. economy across companies of all sizes. He contrasted current practice with earlier distressed buyouts of firms such as Toys "R" Us, Sears and Payless, arguing that modern firms focus more on value creation and employ operating professionals in the sectors they buy.
Kaplan acknowledged that small businesses often operate on thin margins, and that price increases can improve returns but risk losing customers if pushed too far. The segment framed the central consumer question as whether these consolidations improve or degrade service and pricing for local customers.
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