Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you sir. (Operator instructions) And our first question is from the line of Jamie Famalette with Sidoti & Company. Please go ahead.
Jamie Famalette – Sidoti & Company
Gary, Harry. Good morning.
Gary Rollins
Good morning.
Harry Cynkus
Good morning.
Jamie Famalette – Sidoti & Company
Harry, I'm not sure I saw this in the release and I don't recall you mentioning it in your prepared remarks what was CapEx all in for 2008, do you have an approximate number?
Harry Cynkus
Including CapEx from acquisitions it was right around $15 million.
Jamie Famalette – Sidoti & Company
And is – pardon me, a rough guess for what 2009 might look like?
Harry Cynkus
I would give you a range right now $14 million to $18 million.
Jamie Famalette – Sidoti & Company
Okay, so it is similar, all right.
Harry Cynkus
Similar.
Jamie Famalette – Sidoti & Company
Thank you and Gary, you spent a little bit of time talking about the franchise programs earlier in your prepared remarks, can you talk a little bit about the differentiation between your strategy within North America versus outside of North America and obviously you mentioned Kuwait, I was just curious for your thoughts.
Gary Rollins
Well it is quite a different. In the United States or North America we only will select proven pest control operators as franchisees. Most (inaudible) these are working alone now. We have always you know, before the franchise program lost 6 or 7 managers because they just wanted to go into business for themselves and pursue their entrepreneurial spirit. And so we have a pretty good stream of franchisees and as a result they are familiar with Orkin, they keep their uniform; they keep their vehicles on their own vehicles et cetera. So it is a very smooth transition and we also have a kind of a guaranteed buyback situation at different milestone dates, 7 years, 10 years, something in that nature.
They are required to sell their business to us at a predetermined price and this really works well for both sides because quite often these people are, you know, by the time they get into the program are in their 50s or early 60s and they are really looking for an exit to the business as well and they've got a guaranteed purchaser. This represents, I guess, about 32 – they do about $32 million you know, we had a couple each year. They pay us the 6% royalty and subsidize some other things like advertising and training. The domestic, I mean the international dealers is quite different in that we are looking for successful business people in these foreign locations typically people that are in service related industries, janitorial or cleaning business, route delivery type businesses.
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