Petco raises $864 million in IPO that values company at nearly $4 billion

Petco Health and Wellness Company’s return to the public market came in above forecasts.

Petco, which is owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, raised $864 million by selling 48 million shares in its initial public offering at $18. The company had planned to sell the shares at a target range of $14 to $17 per share.  

The IPO values the pet supplies and services retailer at nearly $4 billion, Petco started trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday under the symbol “WOOF.”

This is not the first time that Petco has gone the IPO route. The company first went public in 1994, but then went private in 2000 when it was acquired by TPG and Leonard Green in a $600 million deal.

Petco went public again in 2002, but TPG and Leonard Green took it private again in 2006 in a $1.7 billion deal. They sold it to CVC and CPPIB for $4.6 billion in 2016.

Petco operates more than 1,500 locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, including more than 105 in-store veterinary clinics.