15 years after it was taken private, animal supply chain store Petco enjoyed a strong return to life as a publicly-traded company, generating $864 million in its initial public offering. The company, now changing its name to Petco Health and Wellness Co., sold 48 million shares at a price of $18 each, consequently exceeding its initial valuation of $14 to $17 per share.
Following its strong IPO performance, the company will remain under the control of its current owners, CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, who acquired Petco in 2016 for a price tag of $4.6 billion from previous owners TPG and Leonard Green.
This latest fundraising effort will provide Petco with much-needed capital, particularly after its poor financial performance at the end of 2020. During a 39-week period that ended on October 31st, 2020, they reached a startling net loss worth $25 million.
Some of the reasons given for its enduring struggles included a decline in consumer spending during the coronavirus pandemic as well as an increase in competition in the animal supply space.
Petco shares are expected to begin trading on Thursday under the symbol WOOF on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
