by The American owner of the High Street Pharmacy Chain Boots must be taken privately in a $ 10 billion deal (£ 7.8 billion) that will put an end to almost a century on public markets for Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The company, which operates more than 1,800 Boots stores in the UK, has been sold to the American private equity company Sycamore Partners after wrestling in the internet age, because customers have turned online for cheaper products.
The market capitalization of Walgreens has collapsed by 90% since 2015 and is now appreciated at $ 9.3 billion. It has debts and lease obligations of $ 30 billion.
Sycamore Partners has closed a deal of $ 11.45 per share for the company, giving it a share value of around $ 10 billion.
However, investors can receive an extra $ 3 per share based on the sale of the first -line care company of Walgreens, Villagemdemd, the appreciation of the company, including debts, at $ 23.7 billion.
After the rise of the deal discussions in December, it was reported that if a sale was completed, Sycamore would probably retain the American retail activities and sell or spoke the rest of the company, including the British pharmacy chain boots.
Boots has more than 50,000 employees, including at the head office in Nottinghamshire, who after almost three years of speculation have to deal with further uncertainty about his future ownership.
In 2022, Walgreens brought Boots for sale, but later dropped the plans while potential buyers had trouble raising money. A plan to make the company floated was dropped last year.
Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst, said: “The boots Challenge business appearance, but we will probably have to wait until this time next year to see him try to try an IPO, because the new owner, Sycamore, will not complete the acquisition of Walgreens until [the last three months of] This year. “
Walgreens took an interest in Boots in 2012 for the first time and completed a buyout two years later. In 2020, during the Coronavirus Pandemie, Boots said that it cut 4,000 jobs, about 7% of his workforce, and nearly 50 of his opticiens branches closed.
Two years ago the chain announced the closure of 300 stores, which completed it at the end of last year, because it “evolved” his shop.
The deal will put an end to the 98-year-old Run van Walgreens as a listed company, although the second largest pancake chain in the US still has 35 days to search or entertain rival bids.
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As part of the deal with Sycamore, Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, the executive chairman of Walgreens and the largest shareholder, will retain a minority share in the company.
Pessina forged the Transatlantic Pharmacy Company by combining Walgreens -based Walgreens with Alliance Boots of Europe in 2014, with £ 4.3 billion to take a 45% interest in the company in 2012.
The market value of Walgreens reached a peak at $ 100 billion shortly after the merger completion, but it has fallen over the past decade because e-commerce has hit its High Street trade operation.
Tim Wentworth, the Chief Executive of Walgreens, said that the company navigated by the “challenges of a rapidly evolving pharmacy industry and an increasingly complex and competitive retail landscape”.
He said: “While we are making progress against our ambitious walk -through strategy, meaningful value creation will take time. Focus and change that is better managed as a private company. “
