Europe's leading online retailer of pet products, Zooplus AG, and private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F) today (Friday) entered into an investor agreement, establishing a long-term strategic partnership. To this end, Zorro Bidco S.à r.l., a holding company controlled by funds advised by Hellman & Friedman, announced a voluntary public tender offer for the shares of Zooplus.
According to Zooplus, the investor agreement comes against the backdrop of increasing customer expectations with the boom in online retailing triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, but also the emergence of new competitors. "With H&F as a strategic and financial partner, Zooplus gains additional sector expertise, active support, greater financial flexibility and a stable ownership structure to extend its competitive edge and ensure sustainable growth in the long term," Zooplus cites as reasons for the completed deal.
H&F's offer price will be 390 euros per share. The equity valuation for Zooplus was set at approximately 3 bn euros, which corresponds to a premium of 50 per cent on the volume-weighted average price of Zooplus shares over the past three months and a premium of 40 per cent on the closing price on 12 August. Given the strong performance of Zooplus shares over the past twelve months, the offer price is also 34 per cent above the all-time closing high of the share.
H&F has already entered into irrevocable tender agreements with various shareholders for approximately 17 per cent of Zooplus' share capital, including members of the Management Board and Maxburg Beteiligungen Gmbh & Co. KG, a long-standing investor in Zooplus. In this respect, there should be no doubt that the takeover offer will be approved by an overwhelming majority of shareholders.
