2 days Ago
In this photo is a business sign hanging over the entrance to a Walgreens pharmacy and store in ...
[+] Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) Walgreen Boots Alliance will become privately held in a takeover by the investment firm Sycamore Partners for more than $10 billion, the companies announced Thursday. The deal, which had been rumored for months, calls for Walgreens shareholders to receive $11.
45 per share in cash at closing of the Sycamore purchase and “one non-transferable right to receive up to $3.00 in cash per WBA share “from the future monetization of WBA’s debt and equity interests in VillageMD, which includes the Village Medical, Summit Health and CityMD businesses,” the companies said. Sycamore’s agreement to pay $11.
45 per share is 29% above where the stock price was trading in December and represents an equity value of around $10 billion, the companies confirmed. “Leveraging (Walgreens Boots Alliance’s healthcare expertise and Sycamore’s established leadership in retail and consumer services, WBA will be better positioned to become the first choice for pharmacy, retail and health services,” the companies said Thursday after closing of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. “The Company will continue to operate under Walgreens, Boots and its trusted portfolio of consumer brands.
WBA will maintain its headquarters in the Chicago area and continue contributing to the communities in which it operates, with the goal of positively impacting the health outcomes and overall well-being of its customers, patients, communities and team members.” News of the Walgreens sale comes as rival CVS Health is committed to keeping all of its businesses including its retail pharmacies and growing Oak Street senior health center operation. CVS also owns the nation’s third largest health insurance company in Aetna and one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies in Caremark.
Owning a health insurer and PBM allows those CVS companies to buy services from its provider operations at discounts for health plan enrollees as well as employer and government clients. Walgreens effort to package more healthcare services in or attached to its retail pharmacies has been rocky to say the least. Under former chief executive Roz Brewer, Walgreens spent billions of dollars investing in and operating physician-staffed clinic operator VillageMD.
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