Mars Inc., a privately owned family company, will acquire VCA Inc. a publicly traded veterinary and dog day-care company, for $7.7 billion,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
VCA's annual revenues are about $2 billion, according to the report.
After the VCA acquisition, Mars's pet-care division “would contribute more than half of the combined company's $37 billion in annual sales,” the
Journal
article said.
The pet care industry is growing faster than the human food industry, the report said. Competitors such as Nestlé and J.M. Smucker Co. also have entered the pet food market, the article noted.
Mars has had interests in pet food since 1935, when it bought a U.K. company that made canned dog food, the article noted. In 2007, the company entered the veterinary services market when it bought a stake in the Banfield Pet Hospital chain. In 2014 it acquired Iams and other pet food brands from Procter & Gamble Co.
“Mars said the increased focus on pet care doesn't mean the company will abandon its popular chocolates,” the
Journal
article said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal
, Jan. 10, 2017.)
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