Matrix Capital Markets Group, an independent investment bank, served as lead advisor on Apollo Veterinary Medical Hospitals and AVMH Ventures’ recapitalization and acquisition of a multi-state portfolio of Pet Supplies Plus retail pet stores.
A privately-owned company established in 1999 by Dr. Steven Whatley in Albany, GA, Apollo is a veterinary care provider in the Southeast. The company is comprised of nine full-service veterinary hospital locations throughout Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
“We are proud to add this most recent portfolio of Pet Supplies Plus stores to our existing portfolio and further diversify and expand our business,” Dr. Whatley said. “We are committed to operating best-in-class veterinary hospitals and Pet Supplies Plus stores, and we do that by forging personal relationships with our clients, patients, team members and the communities that we serve. As we continue to expand our presence, we were fortunate to work with Matrix to structure and intermediate this important transaction. Their experience, functional expertise and objective approach were critical to securing capital on terms that were very attractive to the company.”
Pet Supplies Plus, a subsidiary of Franchise Group, is focused on making it easier to get better products and services for their customers’ pets. With more than 640 locations in 41 states and counting, the stores have a streamlined design making it easy to navigate a wide assortment of natural pet foods, goods and services.
In its role as sole intermediary, Matrix provided capital advisory services to Apollo including financial modeling and sensitivity analysis, capital structure assessment, negotiation with counterparties and placement of both debt and equity capital. The assignment was managed by John Whalen, head of Matrix’s Capital Advisory Investment Banking Group; Ryan Weir, director and Garrett Novotny, CFA, CPA, senior analyst.
“We very much appreciate the trust that Apollo placed in us to advise them on the capital raise and acquisition,” Weir said. “Apollo is a great operator and the addition of this portfolio of stores represents a transformational acquisition for the Company as it further scales and diversifies. Matrix was privileged to work with the Apollo Team.”
