Colgate-Palmolive enters fresh pet food with Prime100 acquisition

Colgate-Palmolive has agreed to acquire Australia-based Care TopCo, which owns the Prime100 fresh pet-food brand.

The US consumer goods company did not reveal the financial terms of the deal. However, according to The Australian Financial Review, New York-listed Colgate-Palmolive is acquiring Prime100 from Quadrant Private Equity for A$500m ($317.5m), Just Food reported.

In a statement, Colgate-Palmolive, which owns the Hill’s Pet Nutrition business, said the deal marks its entry into the fresh pet food category.

Colgate chairman, president and CEO Noel Wallace described Prime100 as “a high-growth, profitable, fresh dog-food asset”.

Set up in 2014 and based in Melbourne, Prime100 provides refrigerated and shelf-stable products, available through specialist pet stores and other retailers across Australia.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition president John Hazlin said the deal gives Colgate-Palmolive an “even larger, complementary portfolio of advanced nutrition products”.

The acquisition will be financed through a combination of debt and cash, with the transaction expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval in Australia.

When Colgate-Palmolive announced its 2024 financial results last month, the toothpaste giant said its overall pet segment, including Hill’s Pet Nutrition and private-label operations, generated net sales of $1.14bn in the fourth quarter, up from $1.11bn in the corresponding period a year earlier.

For 2024 as a whole, the group’s pet business recorded $4.48bn in net sales, an increase from $4.29bn in 2023.

The division’s operating profits in the fourth quarter rose 19% to $275m. Annual operating profits were $965m, up from $806m in 2023.

During 2025, Colgate-Palmolive plans to leave the market for private-label pet nutrition.