CHICAGO (Diya TV) — Walgreens Boots Alliance, one of the United States’ largest pharmacy chains, has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in a deal valued at approximately $23.7 billion. The transaction marks the end of Walgreens’ nearly century-long tenure as a publicly traded company.
Sycamore Partners will make a cash payment of $11.45 per share, which is a 29% premium on the December 9, 2024 closing price of Walgreens before news of the proposed transaction. Shareholders will also receive as much as $3 per share from VillageMD interests being sold by Walgreens.
Walgreens has experienced the major setbacks of dwindling profit margins and fierce competition from its peers such as Amazon and Walmart. The worth of the firm has decreased since a decade back from $100 billion to nearly $9.3 billion presently.
The Sycamore takeover, which specializes in reviving struggling retailers, is intended to tackle Walgreens’ issues independent of public market pressures. The company will divide the group into three segments: Walgreens, Boots, and Shields Health Solutions. Senior Walgreens executive Ornella Barra assured Boots staff that no immediate action would be taken and that Sycamore is behind Boots’ leadership and turnaround.
Walgreens’ headquarters will stay close to Chicago, and the company will still have its existing brands. CEO Tim Wentworth said it would make it easier to implement their aggressive turnaround plan in a private company.
The deal is anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of 2025, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Walgreens’ shares increased by 5.7% after the announcement, although they remain down 49% in the last year.
The move is in line with larger trends across the retail and healthcare sectors, in which companies are adjusting to growth in e-commerce and shifting consumer habits. Going private allows Walgreens to better cope with such challenges away from the public market glare.
