Business1 min read

Boots sold in £7bn deal to Canadian billionaire family

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Boots, the UK and Irish pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in a $8.9 billion ($6.7 billion) deal to the holding company of Canada's billionaire Weston family. The deal, which covers Boots' retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses, is expected to be completed in early 2027. The deal is the largest in Boots' history and comes after only 18 months of ownership by US private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Key points

  • Boots, the UK and Irish pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in a $8.9 billion ($6.7…: Boots, the UK and Irish pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in a $8.9 billion ($6.7 billion) deal to the holding company of Canada's billionaire Weston family.
  • The deal, which covers Boots' retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and…: The deal, which covers Boots' retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses, is expected to be completed in early 2027.
  • The deal is the largest in Boots' history and comes after only 18 months of ownership by…: The deal is the largest in Boots' history and comes after only 18 months of ownership by US private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

- Published

Boots, the High Street pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in an $8.9bn (£6.7bn) deal to the holding company of Canada's billionaire Weston family.

Wittington Investments confirmed it had agreed to buy Boots on Wednesday from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore had only owned the retailer for 18 months.

The deal covers Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses.

Galen Weston, chairman of Wittington – who will become chairman of Boots, said the firm played "a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland."

"We see a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership," he added.

The deal is expected to be completed in early 2027.

Original source: www.bbc.co.uk

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