Sycamore Partners is engaged in negotiations to divest Boots for approximately $10 billion, with competing bidders reported to include the Canadian arm of the Weston family and Australia's Sigma Healthcare, according to people familiar with the matter.
The private equity group acquired control of Boots last year as part of a larger $23.7 billion transaction that purchased the parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance. Conversations with potential buyers began prior to Easter, and a sale would halt the previously advanced plans for a London initial public offering of the UK health and beauty retailer.
The Weston family's Canadian branch is in talks to acquire Boots. That branch operates supermarket chain Loblaws and pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart through Wittington Investments. Separately, another branch of the Weston family in Britain is known to hold a stake in Associated British Foods, giving it control of the Primark apparel chain - a factual detail about the family's broader retail holdings.
Sigma Healthcare, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and carries a reported market value of A$33.7 billion (about $17.8 billion), is participating in the bidding as part of an international expansion strategy. The company completed a A$5.8 billion merger with Chemist Warehouse Group last year, and it entered the UK market last month through a joint venture with GreenLight Healthcare. GreenLight operates 22 pharmacies in and around London.
Those involved in the talks began approaching potential buyers before the Easter holiday period. If a transaction is agreed, it would supplant the route of taking Boots public in London.
Context and implications
- Sycamore Partners' purchase of Boots' parent through a $23.7 billion deal last year established its current control of the retail chain.
- The Weston family's Canadian operations include major grocery and pharmacy banners, while a British branch of the family holds retail interests via Associated British Foods.
- Sigma Healthcare's recent deals and its UK joint venture indicate a strategic push beyond Australia.
Details about the negotiations and the identities of all interested parties remain limited to those described by people familiar with the discussions. No sale has been announced, and timelines for any transaction were not disclosed in the available information.