Sycamore Partners is weighing a $10bn disposal of UK health and beauty chain Boots, drawing early-stage interest from Canada’s Weston family and Australian healthcare group Sigma Healthcare.
Sigma has acknowledged its participation in the process, telling the Financial Times it had “engaged in preliminary discussions in relation to the sale process”.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The Sydney-listed group entered the UK market last month through a joint venture with GreenLight Healthcare, which runs 22 pharmacies across London, UK, and its surrounding areas.
Sycamore took ownership of Boots when it acquired Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7bn last year, later restructuring the group into five separate operating businesses.
The Weston family is pursuing the acquisition via Wittington Investments, its holding vehicle for Canadian grocery chain Loblaw and pharmacy operator Shoppers Drug Mart.
Shoppers Drug Mart was acquired for C$12.4bn ($8.90bn) in 2013 and now has more than 1,300 stores across Canada.
A successful deal would represent the family’s first significant return to UK retail since it sold Selfridges for £4bn ($5.35bn) in 2022.
Talks are understood to have commenced earlier this year, though sources cautioned that proceedings remain at an early stage and no firm decision has been reached.
The Stefano Pessina family, whose patriarch drove the 2012 combination of Boots and Walgreens, holds a 44% stake across all five businesses spun out of the alliance.
A private sale would dampen hopes that Boots could join Waterstones and Superdrug in bolstering London’s IPO pipeline at a time when public market activity is under pressure.
Boots posted revenue growth of 3.2% to £7.5bn for the year to August 2025, supported by new beauty brand additions and increased demand for weight-loss jabs.
Pre-tax profit rose 25% to £337m, partly due to the reversal of impairment charges.
The retailer has recently brought in former Currys chief executive Alex Baldock to head the business.
Founded as a single chemist in 1849, Boots has faced ownership uncertainty for several years.
Walgreens explored a sale of the business in 2022, attracting interest from Apollo and TDR Capital, but the process was abandoned after bids failed to meet expectations.
