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The US pet retail group Petland is honoured to be ranked once again among the top franchises in the United States. The company climbed 29 spots this year, ranking 442nd overall in the Entrepreneur Magazine's 36th Annual Franchise 500. According to Entrepreneur.com, there are more than 3 000 active franchisors in North America. In conducting its annual rating of franchises in the world, Entrepreneur considers numerous factors including financial strength, stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system. Other rating factors include number of years in business, length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing. An independent CPA firm audits financial data. Every company with verifiable data receives a cumulative score. The franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500.

The Belgian Aveve Group is set to acquire the Dutch company Arie Blok. The latter is one of the larger grain processing companies in the Netherlands, producing and selling products under different brand names and additionally supplying semi-finished products to fellow companies under private labels. The company's brands include Hope Farms, Faunafood, HippoStar and Canex. Aveve expects the acquisition to strengthen its position in the feed segment, especially in the procurement of raw materials, as well as in the neighbouring Netherlands. Arie Blok will continue to operate independently in the future under its existing commercial identity and leadership. No changes are likely to take place that will affect customers or employees.

Spectrum Brands (Tetra and 8in1) has acquired privately owned Salix Animal Health, a producer and distributor of premium, natural rawhide dog chews, treats and snacks with annual revenues of approximately $100 mio. The financial terms of the accretive, all-cash transaction were not disclosed. "Salix will further strengthen, expand and diversify our pet segment's position in rawhide dog treats, which is a fast-growing pet sub-category with estimated annual global retail sales of $2 billion," said Dave Lumley, chief executive officer of Spectrum Brands Holdings. "It will provide important channel and brand differentiation for Pet's North American Dingo business, along with immediate revenue opportunities in Europe and Latin America." Founded in 1988, Salix…