Deadline looms for Pets at Home bidders
SECOND round bids for the North West retailer Pets at Home are understood to be due by January 25.
The Handforth-based chain – currently owned by Bridgepoint – has been working with City firms Rothschild and JP Morgan Cazenove to determine its future.
According to reports TPG, Apax Partners, KKR and Bain Capital are the four buyout firms that were short-listed by London-based Bridgepoint before Christmas.
Floating the business on the stock market was one option, but the level of interest from private equity firms has made another buyout – which would be Pets at Home’s third – more likely.
Bridgepoint is looking for around £800m and private equity firms bidding less in the first round were understood to have been knocked out of the competition.
Pets at Home has over 240 stores and believes there is room in the UK for at least 300 and is the market leader in the burgeoning £2.5bn pet sector.
Despite the recession the chain has performed well. Last year Pets at Home’s like-for-like sales rose by 7.5% and profits grew 29%.
A successful sale or float would generate a huge return for Bridgepoint, which bought Pets at Home in 2004 for £230m.
The business was founded in 1991 by entrepreneur Anthony Preston. Backed by 3i he grew it to 150 stores. He retained a significant stake in the business after the Bridgepoint deal.
