PHOENIX—PetSmart Inc. has completed its transition from a publicly traded company to a privately held one. A consortium led by BC Partners and including La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, StepStone and Longview Asset Management closed on the $8.7-billion acquisition Wednesday.

Simultaneously with the closing of the sale, David K. Lenhardt, the pet products retailer's president and CEO, told BC Partners that he would step down from both roles. Michael J. Massey, most recently CEO and president of Collective Brands Inc., will succeed Massey effective immediately, with Raymond Svider, a BC managing partner, becoming non-executive chairman.

The sale price of $83 per share reflects a 39% premium on the closing price on July 2, 2014, the day before activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a 9.9% stake and began pushing the Phoenix-based retailer for a sale. The acquisition, announced this past Dec. 14, came after an auction process following a review of strategic alternatives that began last summer. It was reportedly the biggest leveraged buyout of '14.

PetSmart operates 1,387 pet stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and 201 dog and cat boarding facilities under the PetSmart PetsHotel brand. In connection with the sale, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as PetSmart's financial advisor, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as its legal advisor. BC Partners and its consortium investors were advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Ernst & Young and Teneo Strategy. Citigroup, Barclays, Nomura, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Macquarie and Natixis have underwritten the debt package to finance the acquisition.