Key facts
- Boots' owners are considering a £7.5 billion sale of the company.
- This potential sale would mean abandoning plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.
- Sycamore Partners, the private equity owner, is in discussions with potential buyers.
- The billionaire Weston family and Australian group Sigma Healthcare are reportedly among the interested parties.
- Boots reported a 25% increase in pre-tax profit to £337 million for the year ending August.
Boots' owners, the private equity firm Sycamore Partners, are reportedly exploring a sale of the high street chemist for approximately £7.5 billion. This move signals a potential abandonment of earlier plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange, which would have been a significant boost for the UK's stock market. Talks have been ongoing since before Easter, with potential suitors including the billionaire Weston family, who own Canadian pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart, and Australian pharmaceutical group Sigma Healthcare. Sycamore Partners acquired Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7 billion last year. The potential IPO was rumoured to value Boots at around £7 billion. Boots, founded in 1849, operates over 1,800 stores in Britain and recently reported a 25% jump in pre-tax profit to £337 million for the year to August, with revenue growing three percent to £7.5 billion. Alex Baldock, former CEO of Currys, is expected to become Boots' new chief executive later this year.