NORWALK, CT. (June 4, 2019) – Best Friends Pet Hotel, a national operator of pet hotels with 30 locations throughout the United States offering boarding, grooming, doggy day camp, training and retail services at each of its locations, announced today its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, acquisition led by Mosaic Capital Partners.
With this ESOP transaction, Best Friends has become the largest employee-owned company in the Pet Care industry. Jared Pinsker, CEO of Best Friends remarked. “Our people are our most critical assets. They devote themselves tirelessly to ensuring pets and pet owners have a wonderful experience at our facilities. As we continue to build on our tremendous relationships with guests and pet parents, to be able to have our employees now own the business through the ESOP is a wonderful outcome and opportunity for us. We could not be more excited.”
Ian Mohler, who led the transaction for Mosaic, agreed, “We feel tremendously fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with Best Friends. The pet services sector is extremely attractive as people increasingly see pets as extensions of their human families and spend accordingly. With a 20+ year operating history, Best Friends has a wonderful legacy in the communities it serves owing to the many, many passionate employees who have such incredible dedication to their clientele. We feel we have backed the best-in-class operator in this highly fragmented industry.”
Industry veteran Reed Howlett joined the partnership as an investor and Board Member. No stranger to the attractive trends in the pet sector, Reed most recently served as CEO of Nature’s Variety, an early mover in the natural and raw pet food category.
As an ESOP, Best Friends Pet Hotel has also become a member of Certified Employee-Owned (Certified EO). To become a member of Certified EO, companies must pass a rigorous certification process and prove significant and broad-based employee ownership.
Employee-ownership is a critical foundation of the Best Friends Pet Hotel culture. Employees treat pet guests like family and take the time to cater to each individual pet’s personalized need. Best Friends Pet Hotel has “Friendly staff that care for your furry family members as if they were their own,” pet parent Denise B. from Best Friends Pet Hotel in Avon, Connecticut commented about her most recent visit.
Employee-ownership strengthens the connection to the local communities in which Best Friends Pet Hotel operates, fosters financially savvy employees, and empowers employees to think and act like owners. This results in an engaged workforce and happy pets and pet parents alike – as the success of Best Friends Pet Hotel benefits both the company and employee alike. The ESOP provides a substantial retirement benefit to all eligible, full-time employees. In turn, this results in sustainable financial success that benefits the local community.
About Best Friends Pet Hotel
Founded in 1995, Best Friends Pet Hotel has enjoyed “leader of the pack” status for the past 24 years, as one of the largest privately-held independent pet care providers in the United States. With 30 locations, providing customers with the absolute best pet care in a convenient and friendly atmosphere where safety, comfort, and fun are at the core of what we do. We offer boarding, Doggy Day Camp, grooming, and training services. Learn more at http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/.
About Mosaic Capital Partners, LLC
Mosaic Capital Partners, LLC (“Mosaic”) is a private equity firm investing in privately held middle market companies. Based in Charlotte, NC, Mosaic employs private equity buyout strategies that incorporate the partners’ unique expertise in Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Mosaic aims to help business owners achieve liquidity, wealth transfer and ownership transition with its PE-ESOP product
About Certified Employee-Owned
To learn more about Certified EO, visit www.certifiedeo.com.
Media Contact:
Julia Geffner
203-750-5220
jgeffner@bestfriends.net
