The acquisitions add to TRG’s expanding pet care platform, which includes Croatia-based Pet Centar, a leading pet supplies retailer across South East Europe.
Founded in 1998, Pet Product operates more than 80 small format stores and two larger format stores in Romania, as well as an online store, all under the “Animax” brand name. It is also a leading distributor of pet products in Romania. MIMAJA, which was founded in 2004, operates a retail chain of 16 stores throughout Slovenia, as well as an online store, under the “Mr. Pet” brand name.
TRG’s Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”) Private Equity team, led by Region Head Colin Clark, Managing Director Stepan Karpukhin and Director Harold Chatelus, said, “The pet care market in Central and Eastern Europe is at an exciting juncture, presenting an extraordinary growth opportunity bolstered by the strong humanization and premiumization trends supporting the industry. Our investment in the region’s best positioned pet supplies retail players enables us to positively transform the landscape. These are important investments for TRG, and we look forward to accelerating the companies’ growth in their respective markets and across the region.”
TRG CEO Nick Rohatyn added, “The acquisitions of Animax and Mr. Pet mark a continuation of the CEE team’s long track record of acquiring market-leading companies and helping them deliver strong top line growth through both domestic and regional expansion. CEE is an important strategic market for TRG because it presents a range of attractive and actionable investment opportunities in a fast-growing and highly dynamic environment. We look forward to investing further in the region.”