Boots could return to London market after 16-year hiatus as US owner considers listing
The American owner of Boots is reviving discussions on selling off the UK pharmacy chain, nearly 18 months after a sale process was shelved.
According to Bloomberg, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has been holding talks about ways to separate the UK-based pharmacy Boots, in a deal that could be valued at about £7bn.
Back in January 2022, a raft of private equity firms were ready to enter the auction for Boots after WBA put the pharmacy chain on the market for £7bn.
However, in June, WBA opted to retain ownership of Boots, with the firm citing “unexpected and dramatic change” felt by the global financial markets in the past few months.
When the company put this plan aside in June, it at the time, had hoped to sell off the chain for £5bn. However, after a protracted auction process, it had resulted in just one suitor making a binding offer for the chain.
Now the deal is back on the table, Bloomberg reported that the US company is studying a London IPO as a possibility.
The company did originally consider an IPO when the chain was first up for sale before interest from takeover firms took over. Speaking at the time, Ornella Barra, one of the owners of WBA, refused to rule out an IPO for the firm, saying “everything is on the table.”
Last month, it was reported that WBA is set to pay £1bn to hand over responsibility for Boots’ pension scheme. It is believed to be offloading the scheme as a precursor to restarting a sales process for the British health, beauty and pharmaceutical chain.
WBA declined to comment. Boots was contacted for comment.