Mr Cooper Group Inc (COOP)

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FYI. KKR SPAC Is Said to Weigh Deal for PetSmart at $14 Billion Value Pet supply chain would return to public market in transaction BC Partners led group that took PetSmart private in 2015

January 20, 2022, 10:18 PM EST

PetSmart is in talks to go public through a blank-check company backed by private equity firm KKR & Co., according to people familiar with the matter.

The pet supply retailer, backed by BC Partners, would be valued in the transaction at $14 billion including debt, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private.

KKR Acquisition Holdings I Corp., the special purpose acquisition company, raised $1.38 billion in its initial public offering last March. As with other SPAC deals, PetSmart would become a publicly trading company after merging with KKR Acquisition, the people said.

The discussions are in early stages, the people said, adding that the talks could still end without an agreement.

Representatives for PetSmart and BC Partners didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for KKR declined to comment.

Private equity firms led by BC Partners bought the chain in 2015 in an $8.7 billion deal, and later added debt to PetSmart when it acquired online pet store Chewy.

Despite a rocky period that saw the buyout debt fall to distressed levels, the companies’ fortunes rebounded amid growing spending on pets and pet care. BC Partners later split PetSmart’s operations from Chewy’s and sold shares after the online retailer went public.

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