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Buyout firms Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners have reportedly joined forces in an attempt to launch a takeover bid for high street chemist Boots.
According to Sky News, Bain and CVC are assembling a joint bid and are said to have hired advisers from Lazard to help put a potential offer together.
Reports also suggest that if Bain and CVC are successful it would move forward with “substantial investment” in its digital, beauty and healthcare services offerings.
CVC managing partner Dominic Murphy currently acts as a director for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) after helping to orchestrate the £11bn takeover of WBA by KKR back in 2007. As such it is likely he will have to recuse himself from board discussions about the sale.
The news comes after reports in December that WBA was reportedly in talks with Goldman Sachs to discuss splitting boots and listing it for sale or registering it as a standalone company.
City sources told Sky News at the time that the chain’s value could be between £10bn and £12bn, adding that it was “unclear whether any emerging bids will be tabled within that range”.
Another source told the publication it was thought the likely valuation would be “closer to half that range”.
In addition, one potential option could involve ”spinning the chain off” into a separately listed company rather than disposing of it completely.
Boots currently operates 2,200 stores and employs over 55,000 people in the UK.
