The appointment of an adviser to sell the $1bn-plus Real Pet Food Company is said to be imminent, with suggestions Goldman Sachs is in pole position to land the appointment.
The business has been tipped as being available to buy in recent years.
It underwent a $243m refinancing in 2023, with existing investors injecting more capital into the business.
These included Chinese conglomerate New Hope Group, Singapore state-owned company Temasek and private equity firm Hosen Capital.
Real Pet Food describes itself as a leading international pet food company with operating businesses in Australia, New Zealand, China and Britain.
It is the largest independent pet food manufacturer in Australia and among the 20 largest in the world.
It sells a range of products through grocery, pet speciality and e-commerce channels under brands including Farmers Market, Nature’s Gift, Billy + Margot, Ivory Coat, Love’em pet treats and Fussy Cat.
New Hope, Hosen Capital and Temasek purchased The Real Petfood Company from Quadrant in 2017 for $1bn.
Quadrant had purchased VIP Pet Foods in 2015 for $410m, expanded the operations and renamed it the Real Pet Food Company, before selling it just two years later.
Run by Germaine Chua, the company has 900 employees globally and operates seven manufacturing plants.
It also has pet treat maker Vet’s Best Products.
According to IBIS World, the Real Pet Food Company has 16.1 per cent of the Australian pet-food market behind Mars Wrigley and Nestle, and supplies products directly to supermarket chains.
In 2023, it generated $488m of revenue and a $22m loss.
IBISWorld says the pet-food industry generates $3bn of revenue annually and $288m of profit. It has stagnated following booming demand amid the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Pet food companies sold for strong prices during the Covid-19 crisis, when the rate of pet adoption soared.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Natural Pet Food Group in 2022 and New Zealand-based natural pet-food provider ZiwiPeak sold to Chinese fund FountainVest for about $NZ1.5bn.
Woolworths in 2023 paid $586m for a 55 per cent stake in the owner of PETstock, the No.2 retailer in the Australian market.
Another pet retailer and vet service provider that could come up for sale is TPG Capital’s Greencross, which may consider an IPO if conditions improve.
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