PetSmart Acquired by Private Equity Firm for $8.7 Billion

Pet supply retailer PetSmart succumbed to calls from some shareholders for a sale on Sunday with an agreement to be bought by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners Ltd for $8.7 billion, in the largest leveraged buyout of the year. At a time when a stock market rally has made private equity firms reluctant to take companies private for fear of overpaying, the deal illustrates how activist investors have the potential to drive corporate boards to explore such deals and accept a price that makes a leveraged buyout possible.