Investor wants to buy Zooplus: Billion bid for animal feed dealers


Status: 08/13/2021 5:54 p.m.

In the corona pandemic, many Germans bought pets. An entire industry benefits from this. Now a US investor wants to take over the online retailer Zooplus – for 2.8 billion euros.

In more and more houses and apartments it meows, barks and chirps. Numerous citizens bought a pet in the corona pandemic. According to figures from the industry association for pet supplies and the central association of zoological specialist companies, around one million cats and 600,000 dogs additionally entered German households last year. A good 35 million dogs, cats, birds and other small animals now live under German roofs.

The pet boom drove the market for pet supplies vigorously – from scratching posts to dog leashes. Sales rose by six percent to over five billion euros. Expenses for veterinarians and insurance are not included.

Fressnapf, one of the leading pet food manufacturers in Europe, recorded 15 percent more sales. Zooplus grew even faster. The company, which sells feed and equipment over the Internet, increased its revenues by 18 percent to the record level of 1.8 billion euros. The Munich online pet supplies retailer raised its annual forecast three times.

Hellman & Friedman is offering 390 euros per share

Zooplus no longer only attracts cat and dog owners, but also investors who are looking for returns. The US investment fund Hellman & Friedman has now taken a liking to the online company. The Americans want to take over Zooplus and offer shareholders € 390 per share. In total, that would be around 2.8 billion euros.

The management of Zooplus supports the offer. Both companies signed an investment agreement. The board of directors and long-time Zooplus investor Maxburg Beteiligungen have already offered Hellman & Friedman around 17 percent of the shares. “We believe that the company has found the right partner,” said Maxburg partner Moritz Greve.

Zooplus boss hopes for more investments

“With Hellman & Friedman we can show what we can do,” said company boss and founder Cornelius Patt. Above all, he hopes that the takeover will generate investments for further expansion. In the current structure, these were not always possible on a large scale.

With the help of Hellman & Friedman, Zooplus now wants to invest in its own brands, technology, marketing and logistics and no longer look so closely at “short and medium-term profits”. The potential is huge, said CEO Patt. “A third of all Europeans have a pet.” It is estimated that the market for pet supplies will grow to 50 billion euros in Europe by 2030.

Fiercely competitive market

However, the market is highly competitive. Fressnapf and Pets at Home are increasingly expanding their online business. Then there is the US mail order giant Amazon, which is increasingly entering the market for pet and cat food and other pet supplies.

Investors reacted euphorically to the takeover offer. The papers jumped by up to 43 percent to 398.20 euros and were thus above the Hellman offer. Apparently, investors are speculating on an even higher severance payment.

Company could soon disappear from the stock market

Hellman & Friedman wants to take over at least 50 percent plus one share. If that succeeds, the takeover can take place this year. The company, which was founded in 1999 and is active in more than 30 European countries, is then to be taken off the stock exchange.

The US investor has already invested in other German companies. Hellmann & Friedman participated in, among others, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 and Scout24.



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