Leading Pet Care Company Rover.com Accelerates European Growth With DogBuddy Acquisition

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Together, Rover.com and DogBuddy will make it even easier for European pet owners to care for the dogs in their lives

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Oct 31, 2018, 03:41 ET

SEATTLE, October 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Rover.com^®, the world's largest network of pet sitters and dog walkers, today announced the strategic acquisition of Europe's leading dog boarding, doggy day care, and dog walking platform, DogBuddy. This announcement comes just five months after Rover announced its expansion into the United Kingdom. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Both Rover and DogBuddy have played a role in transforming the global pet care industry. In the U.S., Rover has fundamentally changed the pet services landscape. With a new service booked every three seconds, Rover simplifies the way pet owners find and book pet care. As the largest community for dog boarding, day care, and walking in Europe, DogBuddy has been a trusted resource for owners, eliminating the need to rely on kennels or friends and family to care for their pets.

"We are incredibly pleased to welcome DogBuddy to the Rover family. We have a great deal of admiration for its leadership team, and what they've accomplished in becoming the leading player in Europe. While this transaction is a mutual fit for our strategic business priorities, we also share similar company cultures and values, and a passion for pets and the people who love them," said Aaron Easterly, CEO of Rover. "Today's announcement accelerates our international expansion plans and underscores Rover's global leadership in the pet care space. With roughly 70 million dog-owning households and 31 percent of global pet spend concentrated in Europe, the market represents one of the largest populations of dog owners outside of the U.S."

In acquiring DogBuddy, Rover has expanded its network of potential sitters and walkers. Owners will have access to a wider selection of services and experienced sitters and walkers who care for their pets just like they would. This development builds on the momentum of Rover's recent launch into the United Kingdom and the funding announcement made earlier this year. It also highlights Rover's efforts to continue expanding into new markets abroad.

"I started DogBuddy to help dog owners with a very real challenge of removing obstacles to pet ownership," said Richard Setterwall, Founder and CEO of DogBuddy. "We, like Rover, believe it should be easy for anyone to experience the joy of having a dog in their lives. Over the past five years, our community of trusted dog sitters has provided the most convenient way to access safe, reliable dog care services that match owners' needs. I'm so proud to see how far we've come, and I'm even more excited to see what we can achieve together in the years ahead!"

This acquisition brings Rover, already active in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., to pet owners in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.

Rover will continue to be headquartered in Seattle, Washington and led by Easterly as CEO. Megan Teepe, Vice President and General Manager of International, will lead Rover's continued global growth. Setterwall will continue to lead DogBuddy Europe.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel to Rover. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to DogBuddy, and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe acted as legal counsel to DogBuddy.

About Rover

Founded in 2011 and based in Seattle, Rover.com^® is the world's largest and most trusted network of five-star pet sitters and dog walkers. Rover connects dog owners with pet care whenever they need it. Millions of services have been booked on Rover, including pet sitting, dog walking, in-home dog boarding, and doggy day care.

As The Dog People™, Rover makes it easier for people to have dog love in their lives through the Rover Guarantee, 24/7 support, background checks, vet consultations, and GPS walk tracking. And by sharing expertise on TheDogPeople.com-one of the world's top dog blogs-Rover provides tips and articles that delight, inform, and enhance the bond between people and their pets.

To learn more about Rover, please visit http://www.rover.com (U.S.) or http://www.rover.com/uk (UK).

About DogBuddy

DogBuddy was founded in 2013 and has grown exponentially to become Europe's leading online dog sitting community, with more than one million dog lovers already registered. With over 25,000 approved dog sitters using the service, DogBuddy helps to match dog owners with local and reliable dog sitters who provide home dog boarding, doggy day care and dog walking across the U.K., Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.

To learn more about DogBuddy, please visit http://www.dogbuddy.com/about

SOURCE Rover.com