July 17 (Reuters) – Australia’s Coles Group said on Friday it had ended discussions with U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital over a potential acquisition of Greencross Pet Wellness, sending its shares up as much as 5%.
The announcement came weeks after Australia’s No. 2 grocer confirmed talks were underway for the purchase of the pets and vets business, a disclosure that had sent its shares down more than 4%.
“We believe this is at least partly due to the negative investor feedback surrounding the deal,” Citi analysts said in a note.
Local media reports had said TPG was likely aiming for an A$4 billion ($2.80 billion) deal, the valuation it had planned to seek for the business in a potential float.
Brokerage Citi had several concerns about the deal, including the potential funding structure and a weakening outlook for the pet care industry.
Coles shares rose as much as 5% to A$23.68 on Friday and were on track for their biggest one-day gain since early March, pushing the staples sub-index more than 2% higher.
TPG Capital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
($1 = 1.4294 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Subhranshu Sahu)
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