The owner of Boots, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), is said to be the subject of a more than $10bn takeover bid.
It is understood that the deal would see private equity firm Sycamore Partners launch a fresh search for a new owner of Boots if it succeeds in taking WBA private, as reported by Sky News.
It follows a previous string of aborted attempts to sell the Nottingham business, and could see Italian dealmaker Stefano Pessina play a central role in the Boots carve-out. Pessina has led a number of deals involving Boots and holds around a 17% stake in WBA.
WBA has failed to sell Boots a number of times over the last few years, starting talks with bidders only to conclude that offers did not reflect the health and beauty retailer’s value.
Boots has over 52,000 team members and around 1,900 stores, ranging from local community pharmacies to large destination health and beauty stores.
