Sergeant's Pet Care gets Perrigo's attention

ALLEGAN, Mich. — An expanded offering of private-label pet care products will come soon to retailers' shelves, following the acquisition of Sergeant's Pet Care Products by Perrigo, the leading global provider of store-brand health and personal care items.

Perrigo said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Sergeant's, a privately held Omaha-based company, for $285 million in an all cash deal that enables Perrigo to enter the $8 billion pet care market.

"This acquisition allows us to penetrate the pet care category by offering numerous flea and tick, health and well-being and consumable products to pet owners at affordable prices," Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph Papa said. "Sergeant's has a proven record of innovation, high quality manufacturing with great customer service. We welcome Sergeant's 200-plus employees and over one thousand SKUs to the Perrigo family. This is a first step in executing on our strategy to expand our consumer healthcare portfolio into pet care, an adjacency of interest to our retail customers. We are excited to bring quality and value to consumers and their extended families."

According to Perrigo, Sergeant's primary over-the-counter channel flea and tick products contain the same active ingredients as the leading veterinary channel national brands, but offer consumers and retailers a compelling value proposition. In addition, Perrigo said the transaction is aligned with company’s strategic growth objective to expand into adjacent categories where Perrigo can drive enhanced product offerings and value for its retail customers.

"We are very impressed with Sergeant's strategic direction, growth and product offerings since its founding in 1868," Papa said. "The team has built a company focused on bringing high quality, affordable pet care products quickly to market and the barriers to entry in this category are high. This strategic acquisition will expand our existing consumer healthcare business and add tremendous value for our shareholders for years to come."