Mars buys AniCura pet business

 Mars the chocolate and pet food conglomerate, is acquiring AniCura, a pet care business, from Nordic Capital. This is the company’s second acquisition in Europe in just days.

The deal values the European pet care business to £1.76bn (€2bn). Mars’ petcare division bought UK veterinary group Linnaeus from Sovereign Capital Partners another private equity firm and also follows the acquisition of partner in Pet Food, a maker of pet food in Europe by Cinven, a London based buyout fund, from Pamplona Capital Management for an undisclosed amount.

According to industry pet care sector observers firms are buying pet business against a growing demand for premium pet products as owners want to keep their animals healthier.

“Europe is the second largest region in the world for pet care and is expected to grow significantly over the coming years” according to Poul Weihrauch, president global petcare at Mars Petcare.

The deal marks one of the largest transactions in the sector, with Anicura growing fourfold during Nordic Capital’s four-year ownership.  Anicura provides medical services for pets in 200 clinics and employs 4, 000 people across Europe and cares for over 2m pets a year.