Animal Supply Company, a portfolio company Halifax Group, has completed three add-on acquisitions since July 2013, creating one of the leading pet food and supply distributors in the US. Halifax made its initial investment in Animal Supply in April 2010 and has completed nine add-on acquisitions since that time.
On July 15th, Animal Supply completed the acquisition of Pet Food Wholesale (Brea, CA). The entire Pet Food Wholesale team joined Animal Supply and will continue to serve the Southern California and surrounding markets. The two companies will be combining operations in a new, state-of-the-art 100,000 plus square foot distribution facility in Southern California later this year (www.petfoodwholesale.com).
On September 19th, Animal Supply acquired RFG Distributing (New Hope, MN). RFG is a third generation family-owned pet products distribution business serving fourteen Midwestern states (www.rfgdistributing.com).
On September 30th, Animal Supply acquired Elf Pet Products (Longwood, FL). Elf is a distributor of dog and cat food, toys, supplies and accessories. The company services the Florida, Georgia and Caribbean/Latin America markets (www.elfpetprod.com).
“Our goal with Animal Supply is to build a platform that combines national reach with operational excellence and unmatched customer service. These add-ons have substantially broadened the company’s geographic footprint and have made Animal Supply a leading, coast-to-coast player in the independent pet retail market,” said Brent Williams, Managing Director at Halifax.
Animal Supply Company offers customers a portfolio of brands and product categories, across a variety of price points and sourced from over 200 vendors. Dog and cat food makes up the bulk of sales with the balance from treats, toys, supplies and accessories. Animal Supply has more than 15,000 SKUs and now covers more than 40 states, represents over 300 pet product manufacturers and delivers to more than 9,000 pet retail stores. The company is headquartered in Federal Way, WA and operates five warehouses (www.animalsupply.com).
With the closing of these latest acquisitions, Animal Supply and Halifax have named George Ristevski as the new CEO of Animal Supply. Mr. Ristevski is a 30-year veteran of distribution businesses and brings a wealth of experience in managing distribution platforms and industry relationships to complement Animal Supply’s team.
The Halifax Group invests in lower middle-market businesses across a variety of industries including health and wellness, infrastructure, business and government services and franchising. The firm has offices in Washington, DC; Dallas, TX; and Raleigh, NC (www.thehalifaxgroup.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 10-22-13
