Dogfight over Petco

The second largest US pet speciality chain Petco has attracted two groups of private-equity-led bidders, according to different US media sources. One bidder is a group with KKR & Co. and Heillman & Friedman, the other a group with CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Both parties are expected to bid more than $4 bn for the chain, which operates around 1 300 stores across the US. That would be less than ten times Petco’s $480 mio a year in Ebitda, a source said.