Walgreens Boots Alliance is reportedly in talks to take the company private, according to CNBC. The deal would be the largest leveraged buyout in history, and the news comes after Walgreens announced it was closing 160 in-store clinics it owns and operates.
Walgreens is the nation’s second-largest pharmacy retail store chain. One of the reported firms looking at the buyout is KKR, which purchased Boots Alliance in 2007 and stayed an investor when Walgreens acquired Boots Alliance, CNBC reported. Walgreens currently has a market cap of $55 billion, with about $17 billion in debt.
Walgreens has experienced a stock slide over the last year, and its change in strategy for in-store clinics is part of cost-cutting measures. Its peers are also becoming larger, after CVS Health acquired health insurer Aetna last year. Walgreens shares rose on Nov. 5 after news of the potential deal broke.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."