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Is PetSmart Private Equity Owned?
🔴 PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
PetSmart
Includes Pet Smart
pet supplies · Phoenix, AZ
PE FirmBC Partners →
Year Acquired
2015
“Your dog's groomer got a pay cut, but BC Partners got a $3.35 billion shopping spree.”
The PE Playbook
- •BC Partners bought PetSmart for $8.7 billion in 2015 — the largest retail buyout in history at the time — and immediately began cutting costs across the chain
- •BC Partners acquired Chewy for $3.35B in 2017, funded by adding $2B to PetSmart's already massive debt load, pushing total debt past $8B
- •Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned BC Partners over deteriorating worker conditions, inadequate training, and increased pet deaths
- •Groomers locked into 'Training Repayment Agreement Provisions' — charged $5,000 if they quit within two years
Since the Acquisition
- ▸An NJ Advance Media investigation documented 47 dog grooming deaths over a decade — 32 of them after BC Partners took over in 2015, more than double the rate of the prior seven years
- ▸Workers reported understaffing so severe that store freezers overflowed with dead animals because there weren't enough employees to handle proper disposal
- ▸Senior groomer and senior trainer positions eliminated at stores, reducing expertise available to customers
- ▸15% of corporate staff laid off shortly after the acquisition, with an additional 300 home office workers cut in a separate round
Sources
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is PetSmart owned by private equity?
Yes. PetSmart is currently owned by BC Partners, which acquired it in 2015. Your dog's groomer got a pay cut, but BC Partners got a $3.35 billion shopping spree.
What happened to PetSmart after the acquisition?
An NJ Advance Media investigation documented 47 dog grooming deaths over a decade — 32 of them after BC Partners took over in 2015, more than double the rate of the prior seven years Workers reported understaffing so severe that store freezers overflowed with dead animals because there weren't enough employees to handle proper disposal
Who owns PetSmart?
PetSmart is owned by BC Partners, which acquired it in 2015.