Is Petco owned by private equity?

Not anymore. Petco was formerly owned by CVC Capital, CPPIB starting in 2016, but the firm has since exited. The effects of PE ownership often linger.

What happened to Petco after the acquisition?

Cut nearly 5,000 employees while adding 59 stores — average staff per store dropped by one-fifth Hundreds of workers signed a 2020 letter saying stores 'lack basic safety precautions' and that their hours had been slashed

Petco is owned by CVC Capital, CPPIB, which acquired it in 2016.

Is Petco Private Equity Owned?

FORMERLY PE OWNED

Petco

pet supplies · San Diego, CA

PE Firm: CVC Capital, CPPIB
Year Acquired: 2016

CVC loaded $3.3 billion in debt onto a pet store, IPO'd it to pay themselves back.

What Happened

CVC and CPPIB acquired Petco for $4.6B in 2016; four years later still carried $3.3B in debt with no meaningful paydown
Moody's cut Petco's credit rating in 2020, blaming the debt piled on by the buyout
Petco's 2021 IPO raised about $939 million, most of it just to pay down PE-era debt. The stock cratered as sales fell.
Closed about 25 stores in 2024 and an estimated 20–30 more in 2025, with credit analysts now flagging serious bankruptcy risk

The Damage Done

Cut nearly 5,000 employees while adding 59 stores — average staff per store dropped by one-fifth
Hundreds of workers signed a 2020 letter saying stores 'lack basic safety precautions' and that their hours had been slashed
If Petco goes under, millions of pet owners lose the vet clinics, groomers, and pharmacies inside those stores

Sources

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Is Petco Owned by Private Equity?

Petco

What Happened

The Damage Done

Sources

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