Weston family's Wittington Investments agrees to buy Boots for $8.9bn

Right · 2Wittington Investments, the holding company for the Canadian operations of the billionaire Weston family, said on Wednesday it will buy Boots for $8.9bn (£6.7bn). 1 2 Right · 1The seller is the private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which owns Boots. 1 Mixed · 3The deal covers Boots' retail and pharmacy operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, the No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchise businesses. CBC put the price at almost C$12.7bn including debt, and the Irish Independent headlined it at €7.9bn. 3 4 5

Mixed · 2The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and is subject to regulatory approval. Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings is partnering with Wittington, which will have operational control, according to the Evening Standard. 3 6 Right · 1City A.M. said the deal scuppers hopes that Boots could return to the London Stock Exchange. 1 Right · 1Galen Weston, chair of Wittington, will become Boots chairman. He said the family has great respect for Boots' legacy and sees an opportunity through stable long-term ownership, further capital investment and renewed operating focus. 1

Right · 2Boots chief executive Alex Baldock, who the Daily Express says took the helm last month, said the opportunity ahead is even greater and that he looks forward to building a world class Boots. 1 2 Left · 1The Guardian reported that the sale ends the involvement of Stefano Pessina, who took Boots private in 2007 and called it "an iconic brand and a British institution". It said Pessina will keep Boots' interests in Mexico's Farmacias Benavides and Germany's Alliance Healthcare Deutschland. 6 Right · 1The Westons are best known for controlling Associated British Foods, owner of Primark, and also own the department store Fortnum & Mason. 2

Mixed · 2The Evening Standard, Mirror and Guardian describe the deal as a return to UK retail for the family's Canadian branch, which sold Selfridges for £4bn in 2022. The Canadian branch owns Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart (Drugmart in the Guardian), while the separate UK branch holds the majority of Primark's parent, Associated British Foods. The Standard said the Westons ranked fifth on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with almost £19bn. 3 6 Right · 1Boots was separated from Walgreens Boots Alliance when Sycamore completed its £7.4bn acquisition of the group in August last year, creating the standalone Boots Group. Walgreens Boots Alliance executive chairman Stefano Pessina and his wife, Ornella Barra, retained a combined 44% shareholding in Boots, according to the Express. 2 Centre · 3The Guardian noted that Walgreens put Boots up for sale in 2022 with a suggested price of up to £10bn but dropped the plan when potential buyers struggled to raise funds, and that a flotation at about £7bn was dropped in 2024. The BBC said Sycamore had owned Boots for only 18 months; the Standard said it was a year. 6 7 3

Left · 1CBC said it is unclear whether Boots will return to Canada, where it could compete with Shoppers Drug Mart's roughly 1,350 stores. It cited an RBC Capital Markets analyst who said the Westons' retail pharmacy knowledge made a deal sensible and who saw little impact on Loblaw or George Weston. 4