ServiceMaster, a US domestic services company, has succumbed to pressure from hedge funds to put itself up for sale and has brought in two investment banks for advice - neither of which is Lazard, even though the bank recently hired ServiceMaster's former chief executive.

Earlier this month, Lazard hired Jonathan Ward, former chief executive of ServiceMaster, as a managing director in its Chicago office. Ward resigned from ServiceMaster in May and was replaced by Patrick Spainhour.