Synchrony acquires Pets Best
Synchrony, a premier consumer financial services company, has acquired Pets Best, a pet health insurance industry pioneer.
Pets Best will operate under Synchrony’s CareCredit platform which offers health, wellness and personal care credit products that can be used to pay for a variety of healthcare expenses including veterinary care.
Pets Best provides CareCredit with an immediate entry point into the rapidly growing pet insurance market, building upon CareCredit’s decades of expertise in the veterinary market. As the cost of pet care increases, pet owners are increasingly seeking better access to care. Overall pet spend in the United States is estimated to surpass an estimated $72 billion in 2018[1], and the pet health insurance market is anticipated to double by 2022[2]. This acquisition will allow CareCredit to offer a comprehensive suite of payment options for veterinarians and pet owners to help pets get access to the care they need.
“More people are including pets as part of their family,” said Beto Casellas, CEO of CareCredit. “With Pets Best, we now have unique insight into the fast-growing pet health insurance market and can offer pet owners more choices for their pet’s care. This acquisition will further strengthen our strong veterinary relationships by giving veterinarians the ability to offer comprehensive financial options and a seamless customer experience.”
Based in Boise, Idaho, Pets Best has deep pet health insurance expertise and offers a wide array of plan options, best-in-class customer service, and rapid claims processing. Pets Best has more than 125,000 pet health insurance policies in force, more than one million claims processed, and payouts of $200 million in claims.
“CareCredit has unmatched expertise with consumer financing in the veterinary industry, and their digital-first, customer-focused culture perfectly complements our priorities. Joining forces with CareCredit, we can more quickly scale our offerings and provide a full-suite of financing options to our customers, benefiting veterinarians, pet parents and ultimately pets for the long term,” said Chris Middleton, president of Pets Best.
As a result of this acquisition, consumers will have access to both pet health insurance policies along with CareCredit financing solutions. CareCredit will leverage Pets Best’s leading technology and strong experience in the growing pet health insurance market. Pets Best will have access to CareCredit’s deep healthcare market penetration and access to veterinary practices and veterinary industry associations.
CareCredit will also enhance Pets Best’s offering by utilizing its domain expertise in digital marketing, loyalty, mobile, and data. In the future, CareCredit will offer consumers access to comprehensive care for their pets by combining financing and insurance options, providing a seamless customer experience.
Pets Best will continue to operate in Boise, Idaho.
Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal is not expected to have material impact on Synchrony’s financial results. Guggenheim Securities acted as the financial advisor to Synchrony and Sidley Austin LLC acted as Synchrony’s legal advisor. Stoel Rives LLP acted as Pets Best legal advisor.
