KKR acquires Pets at Home

The US private equity group KKR has agreed to acquire Pets at Home in a deal valuing the UK’s leading supplier of dog collars, cat flaps, rabbit hutches and fish tanks at £ 955 mio (approx. € 1.1 bn). The takeover follows an intensely competitive auction for Pets at Home involving some of the world’s biggest private equity groups, which persuaded the company’s owner – Bridgepoint – to ditch plans for an initial public offering. Bridgepoint will make more than an eightfold return on its initial equity investment in the chain, which it bought for £ 230 mio in 2004. KKR owns several big retailers, including Toys R Us and Dollar General in the US and Alliance Boots in the UK.