Articles &
Resources
Carol Frank has been a columnist for many pet industry publications over the years including APPA, Pet Business, Pet Age, and Pet Product News. This page contains many of the articles she has written in date order as well as articles from guest contributors.
What’s Driving the Flurry of Private Equity-backed Mergers & Acquisitions?
2021 was a record year for M&A, which I’m sure no one would have predicted at the start of the pandemic. Driving this activity was low interest rates, a huge amount of capital that needed to be deployed by investors, and incredibly robust tailwinds for the pet industry. One increasing trend is...
What is Behind the Robust Pet Industry Acquisition Activity….and Will It Continue?
“We are having our best year ever.” “We can’t keep enough product in stock to satisfy demand.” “We just had another record month.” These are among the many quotes I hear from pet companies across all spectrums of our industry. While COVID has wreaked havoc on the health and finances of...
Access to Capital: How does a small but growing pet company find capital?
One of the most common questions that I get as an M&A specialist in the pet industry is “How can I find capital to grow my business?” Growing a pet products company takes access to cash as you build your inventory and accounts receivable. Ironically, the faster you are growing, the more...
The Pet Industry is on Fire: What’s the explosive growth this market also their owners?
Why this may be the best time to sell your company! In this very strange time we are all in, I have made a point to look for silver linings from this pandemic--even when many people are without jobs, are immersed in the CARES Act details and may have more time What an amazing industry we are part...
Why Exit Planning Could Be the Project You Tackle During the Pandemic
In this very strange time we are all in, I have made a point to look for silver linings from this pandemic--even when many people are without jobs, are immersed in the CARES Act details and may have more time on their hands than they typically do. One silver lining I have seen this year is that...
A Little Good News Among the Craziness
The Pet Industry is Surviving and Even Thriving Are you getting tired of looking at the news every morning and seeing nothing but doom, gloom, and political turmoil? I guess the old adage that “bad news sells” is in full swing right now. Well, that does not apply to this column, and I am happy...
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How to Successfully Move Production back to the U.S from China
An interview with Starmark Pet Product’s Keith Benson In my daily interactions with pet company CEO’s and owners, I often hear them remark about their desire to make more of their products in the U.S., but then follow that on with the difficulties and challenges of actually doing so. “Made in the U.S.A” has become an increasingly popular slogan over the last several years, but how...
Access to Capital: How does a small but growing pet company find capital?
One of the most common questions that I get as an M&A specialist in the pet industry is “How can I find capital to grow my business?” Growing a pet products company takes access to cash as you build your inventory and accounts receivable. Ironically, the faster you are growing, the more capital you will need since rarely do your customers pay before your supplier’s bill comes due! While...
How the Four D’s (Death, Disability, Divorce, and Disagreement) Can Affect a Business
Did you know that there is a 50% probability that a pet business owner will be impacted by one of the dreaded “D’s” sometime during the time they own their business: Death, Disability, Divorce, Disagreement or Distress? As you can see from this list of “D’s”, these aren’t circumstances most people would want. But that does not mean that you should not have plans for any of these life “what...
Why Some Businesses Don’t Sell and How to Keep Yours From Being One of Them
Do you plan on selling your pet company someday? If so, what kind of planning are you doing NOW to ensure the best outcome when it is time to sell or find a majority investor? If you are like most business owners, the answer is unfortunately, “none.” The lack of planning and preparation around business transitions probably explains this sobering statistic: according to the Exit Planning...
The Feeding Frenzy to Acquire Pet Durable/Hard Goods Companies
The last six months has seen a big surge in the sale of pet durables (aka hard goods) companies at very solid valuations.
The Top Considerations When Acquiring a Pet Company
by Carol Frank and Craig Lawson Growth through acquisitions has become more prevalent in recent years as business owners view this tactic, among other things, as a way to increase revenue without a significant increase to overhead. In investment bank speak, this is known as creating “synergies.” In other words, if you acquire a pet company whose products will sell into your existing customers...
The Top Five Most Important Considerations When Selling Your Company
By Carol Frank and Craig Lawson Are you a thriving pet company that is considering raising growth capital or exiting your business in the next few years? If so, navigating the twisting channels of M&A can be costly and tricky if you aren’t prepared well in advance of implementing the process. Your chances of a sale going smoothly will be greatly enhanced by following some well-researched...
Private Equity’s Love Story with the Pet Industry – Part II
As I continue to unlock the mystery of private equity for my readers, a few key questions come to mind. What are the advantages of selling to private equity? When selling your company, there are two types of buyers. One is a strategic buyer, or a buyer already in your industry – in our case, a pet company. An example would be when Central Garden and Pet acquired K&H Manufacturing in 2017....
Private Equity’s Love Story with the Pet Industry – Part I
Since I last wrote about this subject in early 2012, the interest from private equity firms in pet has not waned. On the contrary, interest is as robust as ever and I have no doubt that you, as a pet company owner, get multiple calls per month from private equity groups interested in discussing a potential acquisition. The thing is, most small business owners are not familiar with what exactly a...
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