Aspen, founded in 1990, markets collars and leashes, treats and chews, toys and accessories, containment and litter management products. Its brands, including Aspen Pet, Booda and Cider Mill, are some of the best-known in the industry.

”We’d been looking at Aspen for a long time,” said Gary Baughman, chief executive officer of Doskocil, in a telephone interview. “We were impressed with their product line and the innovation in the company. Also, their product lines are very complimentary to our product lines. Our major products are shelters, kennels, feeding/watering products, litter management products, pet beds. Their lines are leashes, collars, treats, chews, toys, pet accessories. We focus primarily on the dog and cat business. They focus on the dog and cat business. So this was a way to broaden our business, to provide us with a larger platform for growth.”

Aspen will continue to run as an independent company in Denver, according to Baughman added.

However, he said, Aspen and Doskocil executives will work together to streamline Asian sourcing, purchasing and warehousing as well as to develop cross-promotional opportunities.

”We think the dog and cat category is a very good place to be because the dog and cat business is the largest by far of the pet categories,” Baughman added. “We don’t want to get too broad—then you start to dilute your efforts and forget who you are. We want to broaden our base, but maintain our focus on dog and cat products.”

Doskocil, the world’s largest supplier of portable kennels, shelters, litter management and feeding/watering products, is majority-owned by Westar Capital, a private equity firm in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Aspen is Doskocil’s second acquisition in recent months. Last July, Doskocil acquired Pennsylvania-based Stylette Pet Products, a subsidiary of Alco Industries. [April 2006 PET AGE]