Blue Buffalo Announces Secondary Offering

Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc. (NASDAQ: BUFF) has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding a secondary offering. The selling stockholders will be offering up 14.3 million shares, and at the most recent closing price ($26.09) the offering is valued up to $373.1 million.

JPMorgan and Citigroup are acting as the underwriters and joint book-running managers for the proposed offering.

This is the fastest growing major pet food company in the United States, selling dog and cat food made with whole meats, fruits and vegetables, and other high-quality, natural ingredients. Blue Buffalo is a billion dollar brand and is the number one brand in the Wholesome Natural market segment.

Currently the company has approximately 6% share of the U.S. pet food market and feeds only 2% to 3% of the 164 million pets in the United States. With a proven new user acquisition strategy, it is committed to converting more pet parents into True Blue Believers and continuing to increase share of the attractive $27 billion U.S. pet food market.

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Ultimately the company will not receive any proceeds from this offering.

Excluding the move on Tuesday, Blue Buffalo has outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up 39% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is up only 24%.

Shares of Blue Buffalo closed Monday at $26.09, with a consensus analyst price target of $28.50 and a 52-week trading range of $15.19 to $27.50. Following the announcement, the stock was down about 6% in early trading indications Tuesday.

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