A potential sale of Boots is estimated to fetch between £5bn and £12bn, the Guardian reported
Buyout giants Bain Capital and CVC Capital are preparing a joint bid for high street chemist Boots, according to news reports.
Boots owner Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) (WBA) announced a strategic review of the UK business as part of its move to focus on US healthcare.
A potential sale of Boots is estimated to fetch between £5bn and £12bn, the Guardian reported.
Sky News reported that Bain and CVC are working on a plan that involves a substantial investment in Boots’ digital, beauty and healthcare services offerings.
The bid is likely to include a key role for Dominic Murphy, a director of WBA and one of CVC’s managing partners.
Murphy was an architect of the £11bn takeover of Alliance Boots by buyout firm KKR in 2007.
Boots merged with drug wholesaler Alliance Unichem in 2006 and the following year, the combined group was acquired by KKR.
Walgreens bought a 45% stake in Alliance Boots in 2012, completing its buyout of the business two years later.
Other large private equity firms expected to consider a bid for Boots include Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Majestic Wine’s majority owner, Fortress Investment Group, which both missed out on the buyout of supermarket chain Morrisons last year. Apollo also tried and failed to buy Asda in 2020.
It is also possible that Boots will be spun off into a separately listed company.
Boots has over 2,000 stores and employs over 50,000 people.