Walgreens steps up search for £7bn Boots buyer

THE American owner of Boots is stepping up efforts to find a buyer for the British pharmacy chain.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is working with consultants to set up talks with companies who may make a bid for the retailer, Bloomberg reported.

It is thought the Americans want £7bn for the High Street stalwart.

Plans under consideration also include listing Boots on the stock market in london. That would be a major boost for the City amid concerns over the health of the london market.

A previous attempt to sell the 174-yearold company was shelved two years ago. At the start of the year, Tim Wentworth, chief executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance, said he was ‘evaluating all strategic options’ to ‘drive sustainable long-term shareholder value’.

Back in 2022, Walgreens ditched a sale after blaming an ‘unexpected and dramatic change’ in market conditions.

Private equity giants Apollo, TDR Capital and Sycamore made pitches but Walgreens later said no one made an adequate offer. There are more favourable conditions now with inflation on the retreat and interest rate cuts on the cards. Should Boots, which began as a family herbal medicine shop in nottingham in 1849, return to the UK markets, it would be a desperately needed vote of confidence.

There have been concerns about the attractiveness of the london market as firms switch their listing to new York or become takeover targets due to their low valuations.

Walgreens, which is listed on the US stock market, bought the chemist in 2014.

But it has come under pressure to sell Boots and focus on its US business. Boots boss Sebastian James hailed ‘positive momentum across the whole business’ in March when he posted bumper Christmas sales.

Sales over the three months to the end of February were 3pc higher than a year earlier thanks to celebrity-endorsed skin care products. last november, Boots sold its pension scheme to legal & general for £4.8bn, which paved the way for a potential takeover.

The pension scheme deal, which was one of the largest of its kind, means it will now be easier to sell.