THE RETAIL BULLETIN - The home of retail news
Click here
Home Page
News Categories
Commentary
Department Stores
Electricals and Tech
Entertainment
Fashion
Food and Drink
General Merchandise
Grocery
Health and Beauty
Home and DIY
Interviews
People Matter
Retail Business Strategy
Property
Retail Solutions
Electricals & Technology
Sports and Leisure
Christmas Ads
Shopping Centres, High Streets & Retail Parks
Retail Events
People in Retail Awards 2024
Retail HR Central 2024
The Future of The High Street 2024
Retail HR Summit
THE Retail Conference
Upcoming Retail Events
Past Retail Events
Retail Insights
Retail Solutions
Advertise
About
Contact
Subscribe for free
Terms and Policies
Privacy Policy
Walgreens could lose billions on Boots sale

America’s second-largest chemist chain looked set to lose billions of pounds on its planned sale of British pharmacy stalwart Boots, it was reported on Monday. Walgreens… View Article

HEALTH AND BEAUTY NEWS

Walgreens could lose billions on Boots sale

America’s second-largest chemist chain looked set to lose billions of pounds on its planned sale of British pharmacy stalwart Boots, it was reported on Monday.

Walgreens Boots Alliance put the UK’s largest chain of high-street pharmacies on the market last year, after selling its wholesale division.

Walgreens – which is the second-largest player in the US sector after CVS – spent £9bn on Boots in 2014, and has reportedly placed a £7bn price tag on it now.

But the Telegraph reported on Monday that previous favourites to buy the retailer, CVC and Bain Capital, were prepared to shell out just £4bn. They went on to describe that valuation as “significant”, given CVC’s UK chief Dominic Murphy also sits on the Walgreens Boots Alliance board, and had been involved with Boots for a decade and a half.

CVC and Bain pulled the pin on the possibility of an offer in March, without lodging a formal offer.

Billionaire garage owners and retailer buyout extraordinaires the Issa brothers, as well as Apollo Global Management and Sycamore Capital, reportedly remained interested in Boots.

The Issa brothers were said to be working with TDR Capital – with which they took control of Asda from Walmart last year – and had apparently retained Rothschild investment bankers in investigating the deal.

Reports last week suggested Walgreens was willing to retain up to 30% of Boots in any sale, as well as a board seat, as the rising cost of borrowing made a debt-financed takeover less appealing.

In late March, it was reported that Boots’ retail sales were up 22% year-on-year, with UK and Ireland head Sebastian James describing a “rejuvenated store portfolio” and a growing online presence.

Subscribe For Retail News