Sen Warren Criticizes PetSmart’s $14B SPAC Plans

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has criticized a plan to take PetSmart public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), saying the proposed $14 billion deal underlines concerns about the retailer and SPACs themselves.

As Bloomberg reported Monday (Feb. 7), PetSmart owners BC Partners wants to take the pet supply company public with a black check company backed by the private equity firm KKR & Co.

Warren had already been critical of BC Partners’ ownership of PetSmart in light of a report by advocacy group United for Respect, which said safety and working conditions had declined under BC’s leadership.

“BC Partners’ inability to provide answers about how PetSmart treats their workers, and the pets entrusted in their care, has escalated my concerns about the private equity firm’s disregard for worker safety as they seek ever-higher profits,” Warren said in a Monday statement. “In light of recent reporting that a private equity-backed SPAC is considering purchasing PetSmart, I remain concerned that workers are yet again going to get the shaft in this deal.”

Warren (D-MA) and Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) had written to BC Partners Chairman Raymond Svider in early November to get information about the treatment of workers and pets.

Svider responded a November 19, Bloomberg said, saying “PetSmart has always placed the utmost importance on the health and safety of its associates,” and adding the company had spent more than $178 million for bonuses, higher wages and other benefits since the pandemic began, and had installed new safety protocols in its boarding and grooming facilities.

“The truth is that PetSmart’s pet care standards have never been higher and PetSmart continues to raise the bar,” Svider said.

Read more: Sen. Warren, Others Seek Info From SPACs

Last year, Warren and three other Senate Democrats wrote to some of the most prominent dealmakers in the SPAC space seeking more transparency on the practice.

“We seek information about your use of SPACs in order to understand what sort of Congressional or regulatory action may be necessary to better protect investors,” the senators wrote, saying there has been “significant market dysfunction” because of SPACs, with the creation and operation of them maneuvered to “win even when investors lose.”