Wind Point Partners Acquires Petmate

Wind Point Partners today announced that it has acquired Petmate from Westar Capital.  Petmate is a manufacturer and marketer of over 4,000 durable pet products, including pet carriers, shelters, collars & leashes, feeding & watering systems, toys and pet beds, sold under well-known brands including Dogzilla, Booda and LeBistro. 

Simultaneous with Wind Point’s investment, Petmate is acquiring the products and intellectual property rights of Bamboo, the pet products division of Munchkin, Inc.  Bamboo’s products include pet grooming tools and the Fat Cat brand of dog and cat toys.

Wind Point is partnering on the transaction with executive Joe Messner, who joined Petmate as CEO.  Wind Point previously partnered with Joe to acquire Bushnell Performance Optics in 1999.  Bushnell was successfully divested in 2007 for over a 3.0x return. 

Joe Messner stated, “Petmate is a solid platform for growth – an established brand with a long history of superior product offerings.  Not only will we continue to capitalize on the fundamental growth of the pet products market, but also we will work to increase brand recognition, develop innovative new products, and expand our breadth by completing acquisitions.”

Paul Peterson, a principal at Wind Point, commented, “The Petmate platform is an ideal fit for Wind Point and Joe.  While at Bushnell, Joe grew revenue by consistently driving 20% of sales from new products and completed eight accretive add-on acquisitions.  The pet industry is highly fragmented, and Joe’s track record of building a diverse product portfolio through new product development and acquisitions is a great fit for the value creation opportunities we see at Petmate. ”

The Petmate investment will be made from Wind Point VII, a $915 million fund closed in April 2009. 

PNC Equity Sponsor Group, Ally Commercial Finance, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Regions Business Capital provided the senior debt financing, and Chase Capital and LBC Credit Partners provided the junior debt financing for the Petmate transaction.  Alvarez & Marsal Private Equity Services acted as the exclusive financial diligence advisor to Wind Point.  Reed Smith and Thompson & Knight acted as the exclusive legal advisors to Wind Point.   Raymond James acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Petmate.  O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell served as exclusive legal advisors to Petmate.

About Petmate