宠物市场的蛋糕有多香

宠物市场的蛋糕有多香

拥有M&M豆、士力架等明星产品的糖果制造商玛氏公司，实际上也是全球第一家生产专业宠物食品的企业（伟嘉猫粮、宝路狗粮）。在新年的第一个月，又宣布砸下重金77亿美元收购宠物医院运营商VCA。资料显示，在美国宠物产值已达到602.8亿美元。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

veterinary兽医的['vet(ə)rɪn(ə)rɪ; 'vet(ə)nrɪ]

conglomerate企业集团；聚合物[kən'glɒm(ə)rət]

fragmented片断的；成碎片的['fræɡmentɪd]

clinic临床；诊所['klɪnɪk]

individualization个性化；个体化[ˌɪndɪvɪdʒʊəlaɪ'zeɪʃn]

porch门廊；走廊[pɔːtʃ]

Mars makes $9.1bn bet on growing US pet market（585 words）

By Lindsay Whipp James Fontanella-Khan

Mars is to acquire one of North America’s largest providers of veterinary services for $9.1bn including debt,as the family-held M&Ms-to-Whiskas conglomerate seeks a bigger share of the growing US petcare market.

Mars,the second-biggest seller of pet food and products in the US after Nestlé,has agreed to buy VCA for $93 per share,including $1.4bn in debt,representing a 41 per cent premium to the company’s average share price over the previous month,in a deal which is to be funded by cash and debt.

VCA shares jumped 28.3 per cent to close at $90.79 in New York on Monday.

Mars said the deal would increase the number of animal hospitals it owns in North America by about 800 to 1,900,although this remains a small proportion of the region’s 24,000 clinics,which are mostly independently owned. Bankers say there could be other moves to consolidate the fragmented market,including further deals by Mars.

Importantly,the deal gives Mars ownership of VCA’s reference laboratories business,which is used by 17,000 of North America’s animal hospitals,making it the largest in the region.

Mars is aiming to increase its exposure to all aspects of petcare in a US market where spending rose an estimated 4.1 per cent to $62.8bn last year,according to figures provided by the American Pet Products Association. Of that,spending on veterinary care probably rose 3.2 per cent to $15.9bn during the period,APPA said.

Specialised care and prescription food for animals are among the fastest-growing segments in the industry,according to bankers working in animal healthcare. Aside from its pet food brands,which include Iams,and Banfield pet hospitals,Mars owns companies that provide DNA testing and GPS tracking for pets.

The deal will enable Mars to expand its business in veterinary care and beyond pet food and products,where it lags behind Nestlé’s Purina brand. Purina has 21 per cent of the US market versus Mars’10.8 per cent,according to Euromonitor,even if Mars is bigger globally.

Poul Weihrauch,president of Mars’global petcare business,said“individualisation”was the industry’s most important trend,as technology and nutrition allowed pets to have“tailor-made diagnostics and food which extend the lives of pets”.

Bob Antin,chairman,chief executive and co-founder of VCA,noted that of the US’s 125m households,over 100m now have pets. He added that he saw growth opportunities ahead,but declined to give forecasts beyond its full-year 2016 revenue guidance of between $2.52bn and $2.54bn.

In its most recent quarter,Los Angeles-based VCA reported a 19.1 per cent increase in revenue to $646.9m,while earnings rose 6 per cent to 71 cents a share.

“Over the years,pets have gone from staying outside to the porch and then the foot of the bed. Now pets are in your bed,a part of [the] family,it’s an amazing process that’s taken place.”

As part of the deal,Mr Antin will sell his 2.5 per cent stake in VCA,valued at $192.5m based on the $7.7bn Mars is paying for all of VCA’s equity. He established VCA in 1986 with his brother and a friend,and plans to continue to run it after its incorporation into Mars,saying that he“has no plans to leave”.

Morgan Stanley,BDT and law firm Skadden,Arps,Slate,Meagher & Flom are advising Mars on the deal. Barclays is acting as financial adviser to VCA,and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Potter Anderson Corroon are serving as legal advisers.