Zooplus, the e-commerce dedicated to pet products born in 1999, based in Munich, will say goodbye to the stock market after more than 13 years, passing under the control of the American private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which has launched a public offer of purchase of 2.8 billion euros. According to the founder and CEO of Zooplus, Cornelius Patt, it will be easier to realize the new growth projects that will be financially, and in the long term, supported by H&F. Institutional investors, today among the relevant shareholders, will receive an interesting capital gain, in fact the bid at 390 euros per share implies a diluted valuation of the shareholders’ equity of about 3 billion euros, or a 50% premium on the weighted average price of the shares. for the three-month volume and 34% at closing all-time highs.
But the market does not seem to be enough and the stock, listed on the Xetra Frankfurt list, shot up by 40% and closed with a gain of 40.7% at 392 euros. The managers who hold 5% and Maxburg Beteiligungen with its 9.94% have already assured their support and overall H&F has had the commitment to subscribe by 17% of the capital but has already said that it will settle for 50% of accessions.
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The board of directors has already given a favorable opinion. “With Hellman & Friedman, we gain additional industry expertise, practical support, financial flexibility and long-term focus. We are convinced that the current market environment requires a clear focus on the long term, giving priority to sustainable growth and investments that create value before profits in the short and medium term ”, commented Patt.
“We believe this transaction will significantly benefit our customers, partners and employees by delivering immediate value to our shareholders,” added Karl-Heinz Holland, chairman of Zooplus’ supervisory board. “We are ideally placed to help Zooplus implement the necessary initiatives to adapt to an increasingly competitive market landscape with large generalist e-commerce platforms and omnichannel pet store chains seeking market share online. Our strategic partnership aims to allow the company to accelerate the pace of investments ”, not only in products but in logistics and infrastructure, emphasized by H&F Stefan Goetz and Adrien Motte.
The pet shop German online in recent years has come to compete with Amazon and now sells in 30 European countries. It closed 2020 with 1.8 billion in revenues (+ 1.8%) and a fivefold profitability. The sales target for 2025 is between 3.4 and 3.8 billion euros, with an EBITDA margin of at least 4 percent.