Private equity firms make multimillion-pound swoop for pet food business

Private equity firms Advent International and CVC Capital have reportedly joined forces to make a bid for Partner in Pet Food (PPF), an animal food brand owned by Cinven. 

Cinven is seeking around €2bn (£1.7bn) for the business, the Financial Times reported, which said the talks were ongoing.

The business, which owns brands such as Prevital and Reno, was formed out of a series of acquisitions between 2000 and 2006. 

Private equity firm Cinven bought PPF in 2018. Advent previously acquired the business in 2011 before selling it to investment management group Pamplona Capital Management in 2015 for €315m (£271m). 

City A.M. contacted Advent, CVC and PPF for comment on the report.

Buyout investors have been keen to inject funds into the pet sector in recent years as the sector has boomed due to people buying pets during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Veterinary clinics have been a focus, with private capital groups EQT and KKR making investments in that sector.

But the industry is now facing regulatory scrutiny after the Competition and Markets Authority announced a probe into the industry following its initial review last September.

The review, which prompted over 56,000 responses from the public and vet industry, raised concerns about how animal care clinics are being run throughout the UK.

This included fears that owners are being overcharged for medicines and how a rise in larger groups taking over smaller practices may reduce competition in the market.

In 2013, around 10 per cent of vet practices belonged to large groups, but that share is now almost 60 per cent.