Rover Group Offers $62m to Acquire Pet Services Business Mad Paws
Mad Paws (ASX: MPA) is the target of a $62 million takeover by global online pet marketplace Rover Group, which will acquire the company’s online marketplace minus e-commerce business Pet Chemist – which VetPartners Australia will acquire for $13 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis – and the Sash and Waggly brands, which will be closed down.
Rover will pay Mad Paws shareholders a cash consideration of $0.14 per share, representing premiums of 87% to the company’s last closing price of $0.075 and 125% to the 30-day volume weighted average price of $0.0622.
The acquisition is conditional on the completion of the Pet Chemist divestment and the successful closure of Sash and Waggly.
Unanimous Recommendation
The board of Mad Paws has deemed the takeover to be in the best interest of shareholders and unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the proposal.
Mad Paws directors — who own a combined 58.86 million shares — have signalled their intention to vote in favour of the scheme.
Bombora Special Investments Growth Fund owns 58.9 million Mad Paws shares (equating to 14.5% equity) and has also confirmed it will vote in favour of the transaction.
On completion of the Pet Chemist divestment, co-founder and current chief executive officer Howard Humphreys will remain in the role but will resign from his position as an executive director of Mad Paws.
Certainty of Value
Mad Paws chief executive officer and co-founder Justus Hammer said the takeover would provide shareholders with certainty of value and the opportunity to realise in full their investment for cash.
“Rover has led the way in the pet care space since 2011 and we are proud to be partnering with the team,” he said.
“Like Rover, we have been working to break down the barriers to pet parenthood so that everyone in Australia can experience the joy of having a pet in their lives and we are excited to tap into Rover’s experience as we continue striving towards our collective goal.”
Rover will operate as its own brand after completion of the takeover, to be headquartered in Sydney and led by Mr Hammer.