Walgreens Boot Alliance said it will be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in a $10 billion deal.
Sycamore has agreed to pay $11.45 per share in cash for the ailing pharmacy chain. The total value of the transaction is up to $23.7 billion.
Walgreen Boots has been struggling to regain its footing post-pandemic and closing stores. Its stock has lost 49.4 percent over the past year.
Walgreens Boots owns Duane Reade in New York and Boots pharmacies in Britian.
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“While we are making progress against our ambitious turnaround strategy, meaningful value creation will take time, focus and change that is better managed as a private company,” said Tim Wentworth, chief executive officer of Walgreens Boot Alliance, in a statement released Thursday.
“Sycamore will provide us with the expertise and experience of a partner with a strong track record of successful retail turnarounds,” he continued.
In December 2024, after reports emerged that Walgreens Boots was in talks to be acquired by Sycamore, the retailer’s stock shot up 18 percent.
Last year, Walgreens Boots said it planned to shutter about 1,200 stores over the next three years, including about 500 in fiscal 2025.
The transaction with Sycamore is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Once it is finalized, Walgreen Boots’ stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and become a private company.
U.S. pharmacy chains have been under mounting pressure. Walgreen Boots has also had numerous leadership changes.
Most recently, in October 2023, Walgreens tapped Wentworth as its new CEO, who took over from Roz Brewer as the company moved further away from its drugstore origins and into health care.
