By Katherine Hamilton
Walgreens Boots Alliance shares rose after the drugstore chain agreed to be taken private by Sycamore Partners.
Shares rose 5.4% to $11.17 after the market closed Thursday. The stock has shed 49% of its value in the past 12 months.
Sycamore, a New York private equity firm, agreed to pay $11.45 per share in an all-cash deal for Walgreens, the companies said Thursday. The transaction, which has an equity value of about $10 billion, would end Walgreen's nearly century-long run as a public company. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The deal values Walgreens' at 29% above where the company's stock was trading last year. The total value, including debt and the potential future payouts, is almost $24 billion.
Sycamore is expected to maintain the Walgreens' U.S. retail business, but sell or take public the remaining parts of the company, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier.
Profit's for the drug store chain have has slid in the past five years, with its 2024 income less than half of what it earned in 2019. The company has plans to accelerate store closures and is facing a lawsuit from the Justice Department alleging it contributed to the opioid crisis.
Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 06, 2025 17:28 ET (22:28 GMT)
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