Pet industry M&A picks up again across food, distribution, and services

A fresh round of pet-industry dealmaking is carrying into late winter, with transactions spanning pet food, distribution, and pet care platforms. Among the clearest recent examples, AlphaPet Ventures said on March 27, 2026, that it acquired Belgian premium pet food brand Cpro Food, its fifth acquisition since 2020, as part of a broader buy-and-build strategy in Europe. In the U.S., Cencora and Covetrus announced on February 18, 2026, that Covetrus will merge with MWI Animal Health in a deal that values MWI at $3.5 billion, while Blackstone’s earlier $2.3 billion take-private of Rover closed in the first quarter of 2024 and remains one of the sector’s landmark platform bets. (webdisclosure.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this isn’t just financial churn. Consolidation is increasingly linking the products clinics prescribe, the distributors they buy from, the software they use, and the consumer-facing services pet parents rely on. Cencora and Covetrus said their combination is meant to pair distribution with pharmacy and practice-management capabilities, while market analysts have pointed to continued private-equity appetite for pet services, nutrition, and health-adjacent categories even as broader pet-market growth has moderated. That could mean more integrated purchasing and workflow options for practices, but also fewer large-scale partners across the supply chain. (investor.cencora.com)

What to watch: Watch whether 2026 brings more platform-building deals around distribution, premium nutrition, and tech-enabled services, and how quickly large buyers turn acquisitions into tighter clinic-facing ecosystems. (imap.com)