Sonae’s Musti merges with ZU

Nordic pet store group Musti, which is owned by Portugal’s Sonae, has reached an agreement with Sonae MC to merge with the Portuguese pet care and products company ZU.

Two years ago, after a decade of experience in the retail business of pet products and care, through the ZU brand, Sonae launched a takeover bid on Musti, the retail pet care and products leader in the Nordic countries, becoming the owner of more than 80% of the chain in a €700 million deal.

Last February, in an interview with the business daily Negócios, Tobias Azevedo, ZU’s “area manager”, ruled out the possibility of a merger or incorporation between the Portuguese brand and the Nordic giant: “Musti, despite being a company similar to ZU in some respects, operates in a different market, in a distant geography and has a totally different size”, explained the son of Sonae’s “chairman” and grandson of the late Belmiro de Azevedo.