Apollo Global Management Said to be Near Deal to Acquire PetSmart for ~$8B

:

PetSmart, Inc.

is close to a deal to sell to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for approximately $8 billion, according to both the

and

. Sources say the deal could be announced prior to Monday's market open. Barclays and Citigroup reportedly have agreed to arrange $6.25 billion for the PetSmart deal, or 6.5 times the company's Ebitda. That falls out of the guidelines of a six time Ebitda limit set by the Federal Reserve. At least two banks are said to have dropped out due to regulatory concerns. Jana Partners has a 9.8% stake in PetSmart and has been pressing for a takeover. A deal at $8 billion would mean a 50% gain in the share price, since Jana's stake was announced on July 3. PetSmart shares closed Friday at $77.67, a loss of about 1%.