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Walgreens is set to pay £1bn to offload responsibility for Boots pension scheme, The Sunday Times has reported.
It is believed that the move will be used to restart a sale process for the British beauty and pharmaceutical retailer.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is said to be closing in on a deal to hand over responsibility for its £4.5bn defined benefit pension scheme to Legal and General.
The buyout would dissolve the guarantee Walgreens has provided to Boots pension scheme, which had in the past deterred private equity firms from buying the retailer.
According to The Times, the group has been negotiating a pension risk transfer deal to L&G for some time, in an effort to restart the sale of the retailer.
The American chain had abandoned plans to sell Boots in June last year due to changes in trading conditions.
Walgreens has been contacted for comment.
