Phoenix and New York — Citigroup, Nomura, Jefferies, Barclays and Deutsche Bank have underwritten the debt package to finance the acquisition.
PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a consortium led by BC Partners Inc. for $83 per share in cash, or $8.7 billion. The consortium includes funds advised by BC Partners, alongside several of its limited partners, including La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and StepStone. Citigroup, Nomura, Jefferies, Barclays and Deutsche Bank have underwritten the debt package to finance the acquisition. The transaction was unanimously approved by PetSmart’s board of directors and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. The consortium has received fully committed debt financing in connection with the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2015, upon which PetSmart will go from a public company traded on the NASDAQ to a private company.
Longview Asset Management, which owns or manages approximately 9 percent of PetSmart’s outstanding shares, has committed to vote in favor of the transaction. Longview will participate in the consortium only with respect to approximately one-third of its holdings, with the balance of its holdings receiving the same $83 per share cash transaction consideration as PetSmart’s public shareholders will receive. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to PetSmart, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as the company’s legal advisor.