Hellman & Friedman takes $3.5bn bet on pets with Zooplus deal

Zooplus, one of Europe’s largest online pet supplies to retailers, said it had received and accepted a $3.5bn takeover offer from U.S. PE firm Hellman & Friedman.

The offer represented a premium of 40% to the German company’s closing price on Thursday and was for a cash consideration of €390 per Zooplus share. Zooplus shares surged 40% after news of the offer to €390. The company, which has benefited from rising online demand for pet supplies during the pandemic, said in a statement that both its management and supervisory boards welcomed the takeover offer and intended to recommend it to shareholders.

Zooplus said it aimed to benefit from a market driven by increasing pet ownership, more demand for premium pet supplies, and a continued shift to online retail, expecting pet e-commerce to become mainstream in the coming years. “The fast-evolving European pet market will provide significant opportunities for players, who master the continued shift towards online,” Chief Executive Cornelius Patt said.

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Hellman & Friedman has already acquired several stakes in German companies in the past, including Axel Springer and AutoScout24. Zooplus said Hellman & Friedman had signed irrevocable tender commitments for around 17% of Zooplus’ share capital. In case of a successful closing of the offer, Hellman & Friedman intends to delist Zooplus, the company said.

Source: Market Sceener

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