PetSmart Inc. agreed to be bought by a group led by BC Partners Inc. for about $8.25 billion, in the largest private-equity buyout of the year.
The group agreed to pay $83 a share for the pet-supply retailer, according to a statement. Besides BC, the group includes some of its limited partners as well as Longview Asset Management, which controls a roughly 9 percent stake in PetSmart.
PetSmart began contemplating a sale this summer amid pressure to do so from shareholders including Longview and activist investor Jana Partners LLC.
The takeover would be a rare private-equity buyout in a year in which such firms have been priced out of the mergers-and-acquisitions market by lofty stock prices.
Phoenix-based PetSmart has given up market share to competitors such as Target and Walmart as well as e-commerce giant Amazon.
