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Walgreens Boots Alliance is reportedly closing in on a deal worth $10bn to be taken private by a US private equity firm.
The owner of Boots is in late talks with New-York based Sycamore Partners to agree a takeover with both sides aiming to complete a deal as soon as Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A takeover would create uncertainty around the future of Boots, which Walgreens has been looking to offload for several years. It operates about 2,000 Boots pharmacies in the UK and has become one of Walgreens’ best-performing assets.
In January, Boots’ latest quarterly results showed retail sales were up 8.1% year on year, including a ‘record-breaking’ Black Friday. Boots UK & Ireland MD Anthony Hemmerdinger said it showed the company’s transformation was working.
Walgreens attempted to go private in 2019 when it was valued at more than $70bn.
Its market value is down 80% over the past five years, having peaked at more than $100bn in 2015. The company has struggled amid a squeeze on margins in its core prescription business.
Talks with Sycamore were first mooted in December, giving Walgreen’s stock a 20% boost overnight.
At the time, it was reported that Stefano Pessina, Walgreens’ chairman and its largest shareholder, could play a key role in carving out Boots and may end up as its new majority owner.
The US Justice Department is suing Walgreens, alleging it fuelled the opioid crisis by filling invalid prescriptions.
Morning update
Valentine’s Day was bigger than ever this year as Brits splashed out almost £1bn on showing their love.
The most romantic day of the year saw shoppers spend £962m on flowers, gifts and dine-at-home meals, according to new figures from NIQ.
Lovebirds spent £137m on fresh ready meals, nearly £11m on champagne, and £38m on sparkling wine.
’Dine-in for two’ deals helped boost M&S sales by over 10% on Valentine’s Day with almost one in four shoppers visiting the retailer in the past four weeks.
“Retailers capitalised on the opportunities around Valentine’s Day as shoppers wanted to create a special occasion at home,” said Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NIQ.
“With the pinch of the cost of living, many shoppers dined in to save money this year, with premium food options growing and themed meals and gifts very much in vogue for treating loved ones.”
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