BC Partners is to acquire a controlling stake in Pet City, pet retailer in Greece. Specific terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The deal represents the first investment of BC Partners GR Investment LP (BCPGR), a special purpose fund which seeks to invest in and support high-growth small and medium-sized companies in Greece. This transaction and BCPGR is a testament to BC Partners’ unique deep regional network across Europe.
Pet City was founded in 1988 and has grown as a family-owned business to be the clear market leader in Greece serving around 3 million customers. The founding family will retain a minority share in the Company which, in recent years, has achieved double-digit sales growth driven by its wide network of nearly 80 stores and its strong e-commerce platform.
This new acquisition takes place in a sector in which BC Partners has unparalleled expertise and know-how, having invested successfully in PetSmart, the largest pet retailer in the US, in Chewy, the largest US e-commerce pet retailer with a market capitalisation of cUSD32 billion, and in VetPartners, the leading operator of vet clinics in the UK. The Greek market is expected to continue to benefit from strong structural growth, as the penetration of pet ownership and pet care spending in Greece converge to European averages.
Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner and Executive Committee Member at BC Partners, says: “We are pleased to add Pet City to the BC Partners family and invest in the market leader in the resilient and fast-growing pet retail sector in Greece. This is the latest investment that BC Partners has made in Greece, a country which we have been active in for over 15 years and has developed into an attractive investment destination as one of the fastest growing economies in Europe.”
Pet City was advised by Ionian Capital. BC Partners was advised by Deloitte and Karatzas & Partners.
The transaction is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close before the end of the year.
