Sycamore Partners is nearing a deal to sell British pharmacy chain Boots to the Canadian arm of the Weston family for close to $9 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be completed in the coming weeks, assuming talks don’t fall apart.
Sycamore took Walgreens private in 2025 in a deal valued at $24 billion including debt. It separated the company into five units to facilitate potential sales of noncore units, including Boots. Boots houses the former international businesses of Walgreens, which includes operations in the U.K., Thailand, Mexico, Germany and China.
The Weston family, worth billions, is a Canadian-British food-business clan that traces its roots to a bakery business founded in Toronto in 1882. Their Canadian contingent oversees an empire that includes Loblaw, Canada’s largest food retailer, and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Selling Boots at the price being discussed would be an early win for Sycamore, which is poised to make a sizable return. It would also allow the firm to focus on reviving Walgreen’s U.S. operations, which has roughly 8,000 stores across all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Źródło: Wall Street Journal US Business · Podsumowanie: HeadlinesBriefing