Sumitomo Agrees to Buy Hartz Mountain

Sumitomo Corp., Japan’s fourth-largest trading company, agreed to buy U.S. pet-supplies maker Hartz Mountain for $365 million to create a global pet-care business.

Sumitomo and its U.S. unit agreed to buy all the shares outstanding in JWC Hartz Holdings. The U.S. unit will be the majority owner. Hartz Mountain is based in Secaucus, N.J.

Americans spent $32.4 billion on their pets in 2003, including $22.2 million for food and supplies, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn., a Greenwich, Conn.-based trade group.