The shareholders of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), parent company of Nottingham health and beauty retailer Boots, have approved the takeover of WBA by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
According to preliminary results, approximately 96% of votes cast at a Special Meeting by all shareholders were voted in favour of the merger agreement proposal. In addition, approximately 95% of the votes cast at the Special Meeting by unaffiliated shareholders were voted in favor of the merger agreement proposal.
“We appreciate the consideration and overwhelming support from our shareholders in our value-maximizing transaction with Sycamore,” said Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
“With Sycamore’s partnership, we will be better positioned to accelerate our turnaround strategy, further enhance the customer, patient and team member experience and become the first choice for pharmacy, retail and health services. We look forward to closing the transaction and entering this next chapter.”
WBA expects to close the transaction in the third or fourth quarter of 2025. The $10bn deal comes after Walgreens had a market value of over $100bn a decade ago.
The fate of highstreet staple Boots remains in question, with the Sycamore transaction expected to pave way for considertation of a sale, following WBA’s two previous attempts to offload the business.
