Speculation over the future of the owner of Boots has rekindled hopes it could return to the London stock market.
US giant Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns the chemists chain, is in talks about selling itself to private equity group Sycamore Partners.
New York-listed Walgreens is valued at around £5billion.
Sycamore is thought to be keen to ditch Boots, which would put a London listing on the cards.
This would be a major boost for the City amid concerns over the health of the UK market.
And analysts think Boots is more attractive to buyers and investors now than when it was up for sale two years ago.
US giant Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns the Boots chemists chain, is in talks about selling itself to private equity group Sycamore Partners
Sycamore and Walgreens have been discussing a deal that could complete early next year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pharmacy tycoon Stefano Pessina, the chairman of Walgreens who owns a 17 per cent stake, could end up as the owner of Boots, Sky News reported.
Another option would see Boots spun off and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said: ‘The question is: could Boots be floated now? And I was sceptical about that a year ago, as the recovery of the business didn’t seem sustainable, but Boots has continued to outperform in 2024.
‘Investors should want to back a big play on that market and the general retail sector could do with another big quoted company in it. So, yes, I think Boots could end up being listed again.’
Back in 2022, Walgreens abandoned the sale of Boots after blaming an ‘unexpected and dramatic change’ in market conditions.
Jonathan De Mello, founder and chief executive of JDM Retail, said: ‘The fact that Boots offloaded the pension scheme, and posted consistently good results over the past
few trading quarters, will likely lead to a far more successful listing than it would a couple of years ago.’
Should Boots, which began as a family herbal medicine shop in Nottingham in 1849, return, it would be a desperately needed vote of confidence as firms switch their London listing to New York or become takeover targets due to their low valuations. Walgreens bought the chemist in 2014.
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