Walgreens is considering selling its Boots pharmacies in the UK to private equity firms, according to The Sunday Times.
According to the report, Walgreens had “received a takeover approach from Bain Capital more than two months ago” and is “positioning itself as a frontrunner in a forthcoming auction for Boots after completing months of due diligence.”
There have been a number of reports surrounding Walgreens and what it plans to do with its more than 2,000 Boots pharmacies.
Walgreens has been reportedly looking at other options for its Boots division aside from selling, including spinning it off into a separate company.
The US retail giant is currently spending billions of dollars on its US pharmacy division after the hiring of its new chief executive officer Roz Brewer.
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Walgreens recently launched its new “Walgreens Health” business and invested $5.2 billion in VillageMD in order to expand the number of doctor-staffed clinics across the US.
“Imagine a day when 45% of our Walgreens stores – of the 9,100 stores that happen to be within five miles of 75% of the homes across the United States – where you can walk in and see a primary care physician that’s attached to a Walgreens drugstore,” Brewer told Forbes.
Walgreens has more about 13,000 retail locations spread across the US, Europe and Latin America and around 55,000 employees in its 2,200 stores in the UK.
Boots estimated value at around £10 billion and could be biggest deal in the UK since the £15 billion Asda and Sainsbury’s merger in 2019.
