The owner of Deerfield-based Walgreens Boots Alliance has reached an agreement to sell its U.K. retail pharmacy chain Boots for $8.9 billion including debt.
Wittington Investments, the holding company of the Weston family based in Canada, announced Wednesday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to buy Boots from Sycamore Partners, which owns the retail pharmacy in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family. Pessina is an Italian-born billionaire who was the CEO and then executive chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Boots and Walgreens were previously part of the same business. In 2025, private equity firm Sycamore Partners bought Walgreens Boots Alliance and split Boots and Walgreens into two standalone companies. Before Sycamore took the companies private, Walgreens Boots had struggled financially for years.
Sycamore bought Walgreens Boots for about $10 billion, excluding debt, and about $23.7 billion including debt. Pessina and his holding company kept significant equity in the businesses.
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At the time of the deal, experts said they expected that Sycamore might sell off different arms of the business.
Boots’ sale to Wittington is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, pending regulatory approvals.
In a news release, Pessina called Boots “an iconic brand and a British institution.” Boots is headquartered in London.
“It has been one of the privileges of my and Ornella’s life to have been so closely associated with Boots over the last 20 years,” Pessina said. “We are delighted to be passing on a thriving Boots to strong and reliable owners who understand the value of its great heritage.”
Wittington Chairman Galen Weston said in the news release that Wittington sees “a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership, further capital investment, and the renewed operating focus required to serve customers with excellence for generations to come.”
Wittington is the controlling shareholder of George Weston Limited, and though it, Loblaw Companies Limited and Choice Properties. Loblaw runs Canadian grocery stores and owns Shoppers Drug Mart. Choice Properties is a real estate investment trust.
Wittington plans to acquire Boots’ retail operations in the U.K. and Ireland; Boots Opticians; No7 Beauty Company; and its Thailand and franchised businesses, according to the news release. Sycamore, with Pessina and his family, will continue to own Boots’ other interests in Farmacias Benavides and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland.
Toronto-based holding company Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is partnering with Wittington on acquisition, with Wittington ultimately controlling operations.
“It buys a struggling retailer, sells off its most valuable piece and then cuts costs and tries to eke out whatever profits remain,” Parr said.
It’s a strategy that raises questions about the future of Walgreens, especially given that Sycamore put a lot of debt onto Walgreens when it purchased the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Parr said.
“The concern now is Sycamore has kind of sold off the profitable pieces and now it’s left with a very indebted Walgreens,” Parr said, noting that many communities depend on the retail pharmacy chain.
The Wall Street Journal reported discussions about the sale last week.