Gordon Brothers, the global asset experts, provided $175 million in strategic financing to support Phillips Pet Food’s acquisition of Central Pet, the pet distribution arm of Central Garden & Pet. Gordon Brothers will serve as the integration agent providing asset intelligent capital, real estate optimization and inventory rationalization.
The financing from Gordon Brothers, consisting of a $175 million unitranche asset-based lending revolver structured with a RILO tranche embedded within the overall facility to enhance advance rates, flexibility and durability of capital, supported the acquisition and will help unlock future growth and investments in the brand.
Gordon Brothers will leverage its expertise in the pet industry to provide technical and operational support during the integration. As the two companies focus on providing a complete one-stop solution for their customers, the firm will assist the company with inventory rationalization and sales support for non-core products.
“We’re proud to support Phillips’ acquisition of Central Pet and help the company accelerate its expansion efforts to create a powerhouse organization in the pet distribution space, delivering efficiency and value to both customers and vendors,” Jeff Tyo, managing director, commercial and industrial at Gordon Brothers, said. “This transaction clearly demonstrates Gordon Brothers’ ability to provide a complete solution combining secured debt and our integrated service offerings to invest in our sponsor partners.”
Gordon Brothers will act as the exclusive real estate advisor to the combined company, conducting a footprint assessment across distribution and operational facilities to identify redundant capacity, optimize geographic coverage and align infrastructure with long-term demand. Services will include disposition of redundant facilities, lease restructuring where appropriate, transition planning to minimize operational disruption and development of a scalable real estate strategy designed to improve efficiency, reduce occupancy costs and support future growth.
“Throughout the acquisition process, we collaborated closely with the management team to establish a comprehensive real estate roadmap for the combined portfolio,” Al Williams, co-head of North America real estate services at Gordon Brothers, said. “With that framework in place, we are able to move directly into execution, advancing footprint optimization, lease adjustments and strategic dispositions to create a more efficient, scalable platform.”
Grant Mitchell, deputy CIO of Axar Capital Management, said, “Gordon Brothers was an important partner to executing this transaction. Their team brought deep asset expertise and a highly collaborative, solutions-oriented approach. We particularly valued their flexibility and ability to be creative to support the specific requirements of our transaction. We look forward to continuing the partnership as we unlock the next phase of growth for Phillips and the pet food and supplies distribution industry.”
