PetSmart secures capital from Apollo Funds

BC Partners, majority shareholder in the American store chain PetSmart, has reached an agreement regarding the sale of a minority holding in PetSmart to funds managed by subsidiaries of the asset management company Apollo. BC Partners will remain the majority shareholder in PetSmart, however, alongside co-investors such as GIC and the PetSmart management team, and will retain control of the board.

BC Partners first invested in PetSmart in 2015, leading a group of investors in acquiring the company in the framework of a public-to-private transaction. Under the ownership of BC Partners, PetSmart and its management team have grown sales by more than 40 per cent, investing at the same time in employees and industry-leading pet care, according to the company.

The agreement is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. JP Morgan is acting as BC Partners’ financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal counsel. UBS Investment Bank was the financial adviser for the Apollo funds and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP acted as their legal consultant.