Zooplus, one of Europe’s largest online pet supplies’ retailers, said on Friday it had received and accepted a 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) takeover offer from U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.
The offer represented a premium of 40% to the German company’s closing price on Thursday and was for a cash consideration of 390 euros per Zooplus share.
Zooplus shares surged 40% after news of the offer to 390 euros as of 0810 GMT, an all-time high.
The company, which has benefited from rising online demand for pet supplies during the pandemic, said in a statement that both its management and supervisory boards welcomed the takeover offer and intended to recommend it to shareholders.
Zooplus said it aimed to benefit from a market driven by increasing pet ownership, more demand for premium pet supplies, and a continued shift to online retail, expecting pet e-commerce to become mainstream in the coming years.
