Organisation: Rentokil

Click here for full-size graph

Analysis and commentary by Echo Research.

Phoney war or "one of the most aggressively personal takeover bid battles in recent years" (Sunday Times, 28/8)? Sir Gerry Robinson's intended bid for Rentokil woke up the sleepy August City pages, but many commentators were sceptical about the timing, credibility and value of Sir Gerry's intervention. "His tilt at Rentokil seems ill-prepared, perhaps even incompetent" (Sunday Telegraph, 28/8); "there are question marks over the structure of any deal from Sir Gerry … and doubts over his commitment to the sweat of a full-time turnaround" (Times, 24/8). Rentokil CEO Doug Flynn helped swing the weekend PR battle in his favour with a robust defence of his track record and corporate strategy: "I don't lack in balls" he told the Sunday Telegraph (28/8), "it wouldn't surprise me if those guys don't turn up" (FT, 26/8). Round one to Flynn.

But the 'horrible' interim results and Flynn's admission that the problems were "much worse than I expected" (FT, 26/8) suggest that Rentokil's woes go deeper than the question of its leadership. Widely seen as a "thinly disguised ragbag of corporate clutter" (Sunday Times, 28/8), Rentokil is facing calls for its complete break up. For whoever ends up leading Rentokil, it may be a question of winning the battle but losing the war.