Walgreens contacts potential buyers for £7 billion Boots drugstore chain

Walgreens Boots Alliance is reaching out to potential buyers of the £7 billion (S$11.89 billion) Boots drugstore chain in the UK, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company is working with advisers to hold early-stage discussions with would-be bidders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. No formal sale process has begun, they said.

A Walgreens representative declined to comment.

The company last year revived discussions on a potential exit from the UK chain, almost 18 months after scrapping a planned sale, Bloomberg News reported in December. Boots could be valued at about £7 billion in an exit, with one possibility being an initial public offering in London, Bloomberg reported at the time.

Walgreens shares have plunged 42 per cent in the past year as the company struggled to restore growth. This year Walgreens cut its dividend by half and lowered its profit outlook, citing reduced consumer spending on non-essential items.

A sale would undo a blockbuster trans-Atlantic merger that took place in stages beginning more than a decade ago. BLOOMBERG