PetSmart acquisition imminent

The US pet retail chain PetSmart is about to be bought up. A group of financial investors led by BC Partners aims to acquire the company for a purchase price of $8.2 bn, according to reports in various newspapers and on the Internet. The group submitting the bid also includes Longview Asset Management, which acquired a 9 per cent share of PetSmart in July. The investor Apollo Global Management had already offered $7.72 bn for the company previously. PetSmart currently operates 1 352 stores in the USA and Canada and is considered to be the world’s largest pet supplies chain. The prospect of a sale to a financial investor has been looming in recent months following disappointing quarterly figures, which were probably due to the strong performance of e-commerce competitors such as Amazon.