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Asda owners, the Issa brothers, are reportedly on the verge of walking away from their bid for a Boots takeover due to a disagreement on price, according to Bloomberg.
The news outlet’s report said that Zuber and Mohsin Issa are getting cold feet after Boots’ owner, Walgreens, asked them for more.
According to Bloomberg, Walgreens has been attempting to sell Boots for approximately £7bn, though bidders are said to be hoping to pay closer to £5bn.
The Issa brothers teamed up with private equity firm TDR Capital to buy Boots, but they are considering walking away as Walgreens Boots Alliance was reportedly hoping for as much competition as possible to drive up the price.
The Issas’ consortium was one of the two main suitors left vying for Boots, alongside Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and US private equity titan Apollo Global Management.
Boots is the UK’s largest pharmacy and beauty retailer. It now sells products around the world, and hailed sales of £105bn in the year ending August 2021.
The Issas first teamed up with TDR to buy Asda in 2020 for £6.8bn. As well as eyeing Boots, the duo tried to buy convenience chain McColl’s, but were beaten by Morrisons.
