Simpson Thacher recently acted as legal advisers, as to both English and US law, to Pets at Home Group Plc a new holding company for the Pets at Home group in its successful initial public offering and the admission of its entire issued share capital to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities on Monday 17 March 2014.
The offer consisted of 200,000,000 ordinary shares at an offer price of £2.45 per share valuing the entire issued share capital of Pets at Home Group Plc at £1,225 million at the offer price. The Firm also represented Pets at Home Group Plc in connection with the refinancing of the group’s senior debt facilities to align post-admission financing with the group’s new listed structure. The offer raised gross proceeds of £490 million and KKR, the principal shareholder of Pets at Home following the acquisition of the group in 2010, received gross proceeds of approximately £168 million from the offer and retains approximately 46% of the issued share capital (before any exercise of the over-allotment option).
Pets at Home is the leading specialist pet retailer in the UK, offering pet food, pet accessories and related pet care products. Pets at Home also has the UK’s second largest veterinary business operating through its in-store and standalone joint venture veterinary surgeries and the UK’s largest grooming business through its in-store Groom Rooms. Pets at Home also offers additional in-store services such as pet nutrition consultations, micro-chipping and offers a range of pet insurance products throughout its over 370 stores in the UK.
The Simpson Thacher team included Adam Signy, James Connor, Deborah Harris, Clare Gaskell, Jamie Rowles and Bim Afolami (UK Corporate and Capital Markets), Greg Conway, Sinjini Saha and Natalie Kone (US Capital Markets), Kate Sinclair (Credit) and Steve Todrys, Meredith Jones and Sean FitzGerald (Tax).