Online Pet Care Marketplace Rover Group was acquired by private equity funds managed by black stone in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.3 billion.
Rover was created to provide an alternative to relying on friends, family, neighbors and/or boarding facilities for animal care. Over the years, the deals on Rover have expanded to include five basic services meeting day and night needs. Since the launch of the platform, more than 93 million services have been booked on Rover by more than 4 million pet parents. At the start of 2022, Rover too teams up with Petco to offer its pet sitting, boarding and dog walking services directly via the retailer’s website.
With Blackstone’s investment, the company plans to expand its global presence and fuel its expansion initiatives, although details of these initiatives were not provided.
“We are excited about this next chapter in Rover’s story and look forward to partnering with the Blackstone team, who share our belief, enthusiasm and strategic vision,” said Aaron Easterly, co-founder and CEO of Rover. Rover in a press release. “Blackstone brings deep expertise in partnering with innovative technology companies, and with their support and collaboration, we plan to continue investing in our business in support of our mission to empower everyone to experience unconditional love of a pet in your life. »
Following the pandemic-driven surge in pet ownership, the pet care category is expected to continue to see rapid growth in the coming years, with Morgan Stanley Estimate 8% annual growth of the category and potential to reach $277 billion spending by 2030. Additionally, Morgan Stanley predicts that pet services will lead this growthspending in this segment expected to increase 143% by 2030 to $118 billion.
“We believe Rover has significant growth potential as pet owners increasingly value high-quality care, flexibility and convenience,” said Tushar Gupta, director of Blackstone, in a press release. “We look forward to collaborating with management to leverage their leading online marketplace and leveraging Blackstone’s extensive expertise and resources to support the company’s continued expansion as a privately held company.”