Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Clifford Chance (CC) and Travers Smith have advised on the £1.2bn initial public offering (IPO) of Pets at Home Group.

Private equity house KKR, which owns the pet superstore, turned to regular advisers Simpson Thacher, led by M&A partner Adam Signy.

CC acted for the banks, which included Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Travers meanwhile took a role advising management, led by tax partner Russell Warren and corporate partner Adrian West.

The deal represents a the second time Simpson Thacher and Travers have come together to advise on a Pets at Home deal, landing roles in 2010 alongside DLA Piper on KKR's acquisition of the brand for almost £1bn. On that occasion Travers advised the sellers Bridgepoint Capital while DLA advised management.

The deal represents the latest in a string of IPOs in recent months, with the retail sector in particular seeing a number of listings.

On Monday (17 March), online takeaway company Just Eat announced its intention to list around £100m of shares, handing roles to Herbert Smith Freehills and Linklaters.

Last month Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer won mandates on British discount retailer Poundland's proposed stock market flotation.

Warren commented: "This is one of a number of large IPOs taking place in the market, there is a clear appetite for this at the moment."

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