By Scott Murdoch
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australasian pharmaceutical distributor EBOS Group has shelved a A$3.75 billion ($2.4 billion) deal to buy Australian vet chain Greencross, sending its shares down 7% during early trade on Wednesday.
An EBOS statement published on Wednesday did not name its takeover target but two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the company was in talks to acquire TPG Capital-backed pets and vets business Greencross.
EBOS was due to pay A$3.75 billion to acquire Greencross, and was set to raise about A$2 billion as early as Wednesday, said one of the sources who could not be named discussing confidential information.
The capital raising and associated buyout was put on hold because of weaker than expected demand from EBOS investors, the second source said.
Shares of EBOS fell to NZ$36.16 in early trade. TPG and Greencross did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Greencross operates 160 vet clinics in Australia and 230 retail stores, operating as Petbarn and City Farmers in Australia and Animates in New Zealand, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.
U.S. private equity TPG bought Greencross in 2019 and delisted it from the ASX in a deal worth A$669 million.
Shelving the deal extends a recent run of big ticket transactions in Australia put on hold, led by Albemarle dumping its $4.2 billion bid for Liontown Resources .
In a New Zealand stock exchange announcement, EBOS said it had recently been “engaged in discussions regarding a potential strategic transaction related to its Animal Care segment”.
“These discussions have now concluded and a transaction will not proceed.”
($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; additional reporting Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Stephen Coates)
