Petco IPO barks softly
Pet retailer, which raised $275.5M, gains 5% on Nasdaq in week's only IPO.
February 22, 2002: 2:39 p.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The initial public offering of Petco Animal Supplies Inc., a pet supply retailer, didn't howl but instead crawled up 5 percent Friday.
Shares of Petco (PETC: up $1.00 to $20.00, Research, Estimates) hit a high of $20.49, before falling and closed at $20, for a $1 gain on the Nasdaq.
The company is one of the first pet retailers to launch an IPO since an offering by the doomed Pets.com, which featured a widely known sock puppet as its spokesdog, in February 2000. Pets.com's life as a public company was short lived -- it shut down in late 2000.
San Diego-based Petco raised $275.5 million through the sale of 14.5 million shares at $19 each via lead co-bookrunners Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
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CNNfn's David Haffenreffer takes a closer look at Petco.
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Petco sells a diverse line for pets including toys and vitamins. The retailer posted $37 million in operating income on $937.2 million in sales for the nine months ended Nov. 3, compared with $19.6 million in losses on $810.4 million in sales for the year-earlier period.
The company has substantial debt and recorded a loss of $32.4 million for 2001 compared with a $37.3 million loss the prior year.
The IPO marks the second time the company has tapped the public markets. Petco traded on the Nasdaq before an investor group, including Leonard Green & Partners, bought the company in October 2000.
After the IPO, BD Recapitalization Holdings LLC, which is controlled by Leonard Green & Partners and affiliates, will own a 55.8 percent stake. 
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