Petz and Cobasi become União Pet: how the new Brazilian pet retailer will operate

Since 2 January, Brazilian retailers Cobasi and Petz have been operating under a single company. Following the merger approved in December, Cobasi became União Pet and incorporated Petz as its wholly-owned subsidiary. 

Following the unification of the shareholder bases, Petz’s shareholders will receive R$320.7 million ($60M/€51M) in cash, plus one common share in União Pet for each Petz common share held. 

Upon completion of the transaction, Petz’s shareholders will collectively hold 52.6% of União Pet’s share capital.

Despite the new structure, GlobalPETS learnt the physical and online stores of Petz and Cobasi will continue to operate under their respective brands.

The new corporation will become the largest retailer of pet products in Brazil, with the potential to exceed R$7 billion ($1.3B/€1B) in annual revenue and a portfolio of nearly 490 localities with broad national coverage.

Reorganized leadership

The new Executive Board is headed by Chief Executive Officer Paulo Urbano Nassar, who previously served as CEO of Cobasi. 

Rafael Siqueira Rodrigues will be Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, positions he also held at Cobasi. Oderi Gerin Leite, former Digital and Omnichannel Director at Cobasi, will serve as Chief Integration Officer. 

Petz’ Marcelo Silveira Maia will serve as the new Chief Technology and Digital Officer, and Rodrigo Fernandes Cruz, the new company’s Chief Retail Officer.

Sérgio Zimerman, Founder and former CEO of Petz, is now the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The non-executive body is also composed of Tania Zimmerman from Petz and João Urbano Nassar, Paulo Urbano Nassar, Ricardo Urbano Nassar, and Cristiano Gioia Lauretti from Cobasi. 

New ticker

Friday, 2 January marked the final trading session of PETZ3 on B3, the Brazilian stock exchange. On Monday, 5 January, trading began for AUAU3, the ticker of the new entity – in Portuguese, “au au” is the onomatopoeia for a dog’s bark.

The stock debuted with a 5.19% increase, closing the day at R$3.87 ($0.71/€0.61). 

According to Brazilian media, the financial volume involved in the paper reached R$7.8 million ($1.44M/€1.23M). On its second day of negotiations, it rose 0.5%, reaching R$3.89.

Merger process

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the merger between Petz and Cobasi on 10 December 2025. The regulatory body had unconditionally approved the merger in June, but reopened the review process after competitor Petlove appealed the decision. 

To proceed with the merger, the retailers were required to sell 26 stores in the State of São Paulo, representing 3.3% of the combined company’s 3Q25 revenue. 

Petlove is among the potential buyers of the stores to be sold, according to CADE’s president, Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima. 

In fiscal year (FY) 2024, Cobasi reported R$3.2 billion ($580M/€490M) gross income. During the same period, Petz reported net revenue of R$3.3 billion ($610M/€510M). 

Despite the dominance, Petz says that the combined market share of both players fell from 10.7% in 2023 to 10.2% in 2024, ending a 5-year upward trend.