BC Partners To Buy PetSmart For About $8.7 Billion Cash

PetSmart Inc. said Sunday that it had agreed to be sold to a consortium led by BC Partners Inc. for $83.00 per share in cash, valuing the deal at a total of about $8.7 billion. The price compared to PetSmart's Friday close of $77.67 a share, and the company said the consideration represented "a 9.1x multiple of PetSmart's adjusted Ebitda1 for the 12 months" ended Nov. 2. The successful bid by the BC group trumped an opposing offer from Apollo Global Management LLC . PetSmart -- the board of which voted unanimously in favor of the BC Partners deal -- sees the acquisition closing in the first half of next year pending regulatory approval. It said the consortium has secured debt funding for the transaction.