Pet Industry News: Week of June 23rd

Breaking News:

A potential acquisition is in the works, between Central Garden & Pet Company and the Harbinger Group.  Central Garden confirmed on June 23rd that it has  received unsolicited letter from Harbinger Group, Inc.  The letter requested a discussion regarding an acquisition of the entire company at $10/share cash OR an acquisition of the company’s Pet Segment for $750 million cash.  Central’s pet segment encompasses brands that span across a variety of categories in the industry and include, Adams, Critter Trail, Super Pet, Nylabone, TFH, Aqueon, Zilla and Four Paws

 

In other news…

Bravo! Expands Dinner and Treat Offerings: The new offerings include Homestyle Complete Dinners for Dogs,  the first line of freeze-dried raw dinners offered by the company, and Crunchy Delights all-natural treats

Treat Planet Launches New App:  The app support retailers and resellers of Treat Planet’s brands and  features product pictures, guaranteed analysis, ingredient decks, training videos, and complete data sheets on every Treat Planet product.

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Private Equity and the Pet Industry

SDR’s Carol Frank was recently quoted in a Pet Business article “Capital Catalysts” that focuses on private equity’s interest in the pet industry and how it is changing the industry’s landscape.

Over the past several years there has been an increased interest from the investment community on the pet industry, and this increased demand for pet companies the price for acquiring one is at an all time high.

Read full article Capital Catalysts on the Pet Business website.

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Pet Industry News: Week of June 9th

The week of June 9th salmonella scares are topping headlines:

• Los Angeles based pet treat manufacturer Pet Center Inc. voluntarily recalled the 3-ounce bags of its “Lamb Crunchy’s” because of a random sample testing positive for salmonella by Colorado’s Department of Agriculture. Pet Center Inc. is refunding all customers.

• Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. also recalled 62 bags of their “Science Diet Adult Small” and “Toy Breed” dry dog food in lieu of a salmonella scare. All customers contacted so far have reported no illnesses and will be refunded in full.

In other news:

• P&G’s subsidiary Natura has informed top retailers in Quebec that it will no longer supply them with natural and organic pet food because of new bilingual packaging requirements – a costly requirement for Natura. Numbers were not published, but the potential cost of adhering to these requirements was said to be “huge”.

 

• Pet Palette, LLC, a specialty distributor, has added “Sit Treats” and “H2O4K9” to its repertoire of over 50 brands.  Sit Treats is a line of sweet potato treats made in the United States, while H2O4K9 makes stainless steel water bottles for dogs. “We have successfully established ourselves as an important alternative to the larger distributors by supplying stores nationwide with our unique selection of small, boutique brands,” Robin Kershner, exective vice president of Pet Palette LLC, said.

 

• Cloud Star will continue to donate $1 to each customer’s choice of charity for every Cloud Star bar code sent back to the company.  Last year alone, over seventy companies contacted Cloud Star to qualify for the program.

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