Petco unleashes US$816m IPO

摘要

Private equity-backed pet supply retailer PETCO HEALTH AND WELLNESS early on Wednesday launched a US$816m Nasdaq IPO to shed debt, take advantage of a pandemic tailwind and help speed its transformation into a multi-channel retailer. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, along with 12 other banks, are marketing an all-primary offering of 48m shares or about 19% of the company at US$14-$17 each for pricing this coming Wednesday, January 13. Petco is looking to return to public markets 14 years after it went private and five years after CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board took control in a US$4.6bn second buyout from TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners. It plans to use the bulk of the IPO proceeds to slash its total debt to US$1.9bn.