US Owner of Boots Restarts Plans to Sell UK Pharmacy Chain

Walgreens Boots Alliance put the UK pharmacy chain Boots and its No7 Beauty brand on the market for sale over a year ago, but a £5 billion sale fell through as buyers failed to raise sufficient funds, according to The Guardian. However, options are now being explored to sell again, which includes the chain being listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The U.S. pharmacy company pulled out of parting ways with Boost last summer, emphasizing the grim global financial market outlook to explain why a sale could not materialize as buyers were having a tough time borrowing money.

Walgreens, which has been reported to be in the initial stages of talks about the future of Boots, estimates a value for the business of about £7 billion ($8.8 billion), according to Bloomberg.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Walgreens has been listed with a value of about $20 billion (£16 billion). However, its share price has dropped this year by nearly 40%.

When the sales process was taking place a year ago, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and U.S. private equity investor Apollo Global Management bid on Boots together for £5 billion. Interest also came from the owners of the UK supermarket chain Asda, the brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, but this did not end up following through to an official bid. Also in the mix were U.S. companies CVC and Bain Capital, which made a subtle informal proposal.

Aiming to put more of a focus on its businesses in the U.S., Walgreens was reportedly looking for around £10 billion when it first put the chain on the market.

If Boots floated on the stock exchange, it would give a capital boost after recent setbacks with companies opting to delist or debut across alternative markets.

City A.M. reported that Walgreens did consider an IPO when the chain was first geared up for sale before interest from companies that wanted to take over came about. At the time, one of the owners of Walgreens, Ornella Barra, refused to rule out an IPO for the firm, saying “everything is on the table.”