Swedish private equity firm EQT to acquire VetPartners for $1bn-plus
Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners is poised to sign on the dotted line to acquire one of Australia’s largest veterinary chains, VetPartners.
Street Talk can reveal EQT dealmakers, Frank Heckes and David Forde, have agreed terms with sellside adviser Jefferies and the buyout firm has been anointed preferred bidder.
EQT has chased furry deals aggressively over the past decade. iStockphoto
EQT was understood to have bid upwards of $1.4 billion in the first round – giving VetPartners the same multiple implied by TPG Capital’s sale of a 45 per cent stake in GreenCross last year. However, limited partner sources suggested the final agreed price was slightly lower following a period of more in-depth due diligence.
As this column reported last week, binding offers for the up-for-grabs veterinary chain, which makes about $131 million a year, were received from EQT and rival private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners.
The fast-tracked auction was being run by Jefferies with expectations of a circa $1.4 billion sale. Affinity Equity Partners had Macquarie Capital’s bankers while EQT was being advised by Morgan Stanley.
VetPartners has 267 clinics in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, which helped it make $661 million revenue and $131 million EBITDA for the 2023 financial year. The business, whose global parent is National Veterinary Associates, first caught EQT’s attention in August.
The buyout giant has chased furry deals aggressively over the past decade. It has owned European and North American vet roll-up IVC Evidensia and its 2500 clinics since 2014. It also invested in British insurer ManyPets, and tag-teamed with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to take London-listed veterinary drugmaker Dechra private for
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