THE future of Boots has been plunged into uncertainty while a buyout fund negotiates with its US owner.
Pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance, which bought Boots in 2014, is understood to be in takeover talks with private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
News of the talks leaked on Tuesday night, causing Walgreens’ shares to rocket.
Walgreens Boots Alliance’s market value has collapsed in recent years, falling from a peak of $100billion (£78billion) in 2015 to $7.5billion (£5.8billion) earlier this week.
Sources said there would be no immediate impact on Boots’ business.
But it is likely that any buyer will try to run Boots as a separate British firm.
Executive chairman Stefano Pessina, who engineered the creation of Walgreens Boots Alliance after a lucrative deal-making career, still owns a 17 per cent stake, worth around £1billion, and will be kingmaker in any deal.
Bosses have previously tried to boost the US firm’s valuation with spin-off plans for Boots without success.
Two sale processes have been launched and scrapped in the last two years.
In 2022 a £5billion auction for the British high street chain included interest from Asda owners the Issa brothers.
But talks faltered after bidders balked at the price Walgreens was asking for a business that required a lot of investment.
A few years ago Boots seemed to be the problem child of the US group.
But the tables have turned and the UK chain is now the strongest part of the business, generating significant cash.
Walgreens is trying to overhaul its retail business and has said it would shut 1,200 US stores after a $3billion (£2.3billion) loss.
EXECUTIVE chairman Stefano Pessina told The Sun last month: “Boots is an important business. It will be for many years to come.”
His fondness for the 175-year-old chain was clear.
The 83-year-old had flown into London for the National Portrait Gallery’s unveiling of a portrait of Florence Boot, wife of the firm’s founder.
Mr Pessina cemented his legendary dealmaker status, and fortune, through Boots — initially with an Alliance merger, then a KKR private equity deal and eventually a Walgreens tie-up, which now looks like a mistake.
One more deal could untangle the last and rewind the clock a decade.
CHELSEA legend John Terry took part in ICAP’s charity day where traders donate commissions to good causes.
He joined TV’s Rachel Riley and actors Ray Winstone and Joely Richardson at the London HQ.
It comes a day after ICAP’s founder Lord Michael Spencer said UK bosses should be paid like “top-rate footballers”.
ENERGY firms will be made to offer customers the option of tariffs without standing charges, under plans by regulator Ofgem.
The fixed fees have been criticised during the cost-of-living crisis, as they are unavoidable even when the heating is off.
Savings guru Martin Lewis said: “Standing charges are a £338-a -year poll tax on energy bills.”
He added that they made people reluctant to cut usage, and punished elderly customers who only used gas for heating in winter by making them pay every day in summer.
Suppliers like UTILITA do offer little to no standing charges, but typically charge more per unit of energy used.
Energy experts Cornwall Insight said standing charges currently make up a fifth of household energy bills.
Ofgem is also probing how to tackle the industry’s £3.8billion of bad debts from consumers struggling to pay bills, and the potential for levels of support.
BANK shares jumped yesterday as the Supreme Court gave lender Close Brothers permission to appeal against a landmark ruling on the growing motor finance scandal.
Close Brothers saw its own shares go up by more than 12 per cent, while they rose by 4.4 per cent at Lloyds.
Close Brothers will contest an earlier ruling on the commissions scandal, which put the entire car finance industry on the hook for compensation claims from millions more drivers than previously predicted.
HEATHROW is preparing for its busiest Christmas Day ever amid a rush of holidaymakers.
The airport expects 21 per cent more passengers to travel through its terminals on December 25. Numbers for the whole of December are also set to beat last year’s 6.7 million record.
It comes as travel firm TUI yesterday said annual pre-tax profits had jumped by a third.
The German group, which recently ditched its listing on the London stock market to focus on Frankfurt, revealed a 12 per cent rise in revenues.
ELON Musk has become the first person to amass a fortune of $400billion (£313bn).
The tycoon, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, and X, has seen his worth jump by two thirds since Donald Trump’s election victory, the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index says.
AVERAGE home rental costs are £270 higher a month since the pandemic, research shows.
Renters now face an average annual bill of £15,240, Zoopla said — up by more than a quarter since Covid ended.
A rapid rise started in 2021, as people looked to move after the pandemic, while supply of homes was limited.
Meanwhile, the average asking price for a house will rise by 4 per cent by the end of 2025, a Rightmove forecast says.
It also predicts the average mortgage rate will have fallen to 4 per cent by then.
