Portuguese multinational bids €868 million to acquire Musti Group
Sonae values the Nordic pet retailer’s “solid omnichannel proposition.”
Portugal-based Sonae, which owns businesses across different sectors, has put in a tender of €868 million ($943.6M) for Finnish pet retailer Musti Group.
The multinational, which owns one of the leading Portuguese food retail markets, MC, wants to internationalize its retail portfolio and reinforce its presence in the “rapidly growing” pet care retail sector.
“The Consortium intends to initiate the next development phase of Musti by further enhancing its value, proposing and catering to the needs of an increasing number of pet parents,” reads a statement issued by Sonae.
Musti’s Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that the company’s shareholders accept the tender.
The offer is set to expire on February 12 and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2024, pending approval from competition authorities.
On the day of the announcement, Sonae shares were down 0.5% on the Euronext Lisbon market. However, Musti shares shot up almost 29%.
A profound belief
According to Reuters, Sonae had already bought Musti shares in recent months and owned a minority stake before the tender.
“The offer, which represents a premium valuation, reflects our profound belief in the company, the pet retail industry and the Nordic region, as well as in the strong and experienced management team of Musti,” says Claudia Azevedo, CEO of Sonae.
David Rönnberg, Musti’s Chief Executive Officer, shared his excitement about the “next chapter” of the retailer’s journey. He added that the next development phase “will need to be supported by further investments and a different capital structure.”
The Helsinki-headquartered pet retailer posted €425.7 million ($454.8M) in revenue in the 9 months to September 2023, an increase of 8.9%.
Sonae hit €6 billion ($6.5B) in turnover in the first 9 months of 2023, 10.4% more than during the same period in 2022. The multinational company is present in 90 countries and operates in various sectors, including retail, real estate and financial services.
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