Boots owner eyes sale or float by year’s end

Boots faces being sold or floated by the end of 2023, following US boss’ wish to separate the global pharmacy retailer, reports This is Money.

The news comes as investors and board members want the retailers’ senior leadership team to speed up plans to refocus the business on the US market, deeming Boots’ operation in Europe as a ‘distraction’.  

According to This is Money, investors and board members want the business to concentrate on a new strategy which will see Walgreens move away from traditional retail, focusing instead on US private healthcare.

Executive chairman of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Stefano Pessina, who brought about the deal between Boots and Walgreens in 2012 and 2014, is understood to still support the business’ split, though he is thought to be less eager to rush. 

Walgreens has tried to shed Boots once before, as the parent company has put it up for sale in January 2022 for an asking price of £7bn. However, the sale was called off after failure to find a suitable buyer. 

While the whole Walgreens business is worth £23bn on the US stock market, Boots has struggled for many years, having suffered a loss of £58m in the year to August 2021 compared with a loss of £278m during the pandemic when it also cut thousands of jobs. 

Boots currently employs roughly 53,000 people in the UK and Ireland in more than 2,200 stores. 

It is understood that any sale of Boots would be subject to approval from ministers and regulators, as the company still plays a big role in delivering public healthcare services across Britain. However, a stock market listing could also be a possibility.