KKR sells off remaining stake in Pets at Home

US private equity firm KKR has sold its remaining stake in Pets at Home.

KKR, which acquired Pets at Home from Bridgepoint for £955m in 2010 and floated the pet supplies retailer in 2014, sold just over 62m shares in the company at 174p a share, raising proceeds of around £108m.

The proceeds of the placing are payable in cash on usual settlement terms, and closing is expected to occur later this month. Merrill Lynch International and Numis acted as joint bookrunners on the placing.

Earlier this week, shares in Pets surged after it reported a rise in third-quarter sales and said final guidance was unchanged. In the 12-week period to 4 January 2018, group revenue grew 9.6% to 223.3m, with group like-for-like revenue up 7.2%.

Merchandise revenue rose 9% to £193.4m, including omnichannel revenue up 77% to £13m, while services revenue grew 13.6% to £29.9m, including joint venture vet practice income up 19.3% to £12.1m.

Chief executive officer Ian Kellett said: “We again saw the benefits of our omnichannel capabilities, providing customers with innovative and convenient ways to shop, particularly through order in-store and subscription services. This unique combination of capabilities are brought to life by our store colleagues who provide the friendly expertise, advice and service that our customers really value.”

At 1040 GMT, the shares were down 1.6% to 182.20p.