Walgreens May Sell Boots U.K. Pharmacies To Private Equity

Walgreens Boots Alliance could promote its Boots pharmacies in the UK to non-public fairness companies, according to media reports in the U.K.

The Sunday Times in London said Walgreens “obtained a takeover strategy from Bain Capital greater than two months in the past” and is “positioning itself as a frontrunner in a forthcoming public sale for Boots after finishing months of due diligence.” Walgreens was unavailable for remark Saturday evening.

It’s the newest report on the way forward for Walgreens greater than 2,000 Boots pharmacies. There has additionally been information Walgreens was different choices for the Boots drugstores, together with a possible spin off right into a separate firm.

The reviews on the U.Okay. enterprise come as Walgreens is spending billions of {dollars} on its U.S. drugstore operations on the path of recent chief government officer Roz Brewer. Walgreens not too long ago invested one other $5.2 billion in VillageMD to escalate the growth of doctor-staffed clinics throughout the U.S. below a brand new “Walgreens Well being” enterprise.

Walgreens new administration has been investing rather more on the U.S. operation. Brewer has excessive hopes for the a lot bigger U.S. enterprise and sees the potential to assist remake the healthcare expertise within the U.S.

“Think about a day when 45% of our Walgreens shops – of the 9,100 shops that occur to be inside 5 miles of 75% of the properties throughout the USA – the place you may stroll in and see a major care doctor that’s connected to a Walgreens drugstore,” Brewer mentioned in an interview final month throughout the Forbes Healthcare Summit.

Walgreens has extra about 13,000 retail places throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.