PetSmart Approves Sale of Business to BC Partners

If you’ve ever had a pet in your life, then you are undoubtedly quite familiar with PetSmart, the giant national pet store chain, where millions of Americans go every year to shop for their pets.

Well, it seems that PetSmart might find itself under new management pretty soon, if a proposed sale of the company goes through. PetSmart recently was offered an $8.7 billion leveraged buyout by BC Partners earlier this year, and the offer was just accepted.

BC Partners, which has owned shares in PetSmart for years, is going to pay $83 a share for the company, just shy of 40% over the PetSmart (PETM) stock closing price back in July. The total equity value of the deal (excluding Phoenix-based PetSmart’s debts) is said to be roughly $8.2 billion.

The initial cry for PetSmart to sell came about from a growing realization that other major retailers were starting to push harder and harder into the pet market.

This isn’t expected to have too much of an effect on the operation of the individual stores in the immediate future, but as upper management is likely to shift around under the new leadership, it’s impossible to know what the distant future will hold. For now, PetSmart operates over 1,300 stores, almost half as many veterinary hospitals, and employs over 50,000 people.

If everything continues forward as planned, the deal is projected to be finalized during mid-2015. The deal will be debt-financed by Citigroup, Nomura, Jefferies, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank.