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After months of speculation, the $23.7bn (£18.3bn) sale of Walgreens Boots Alliance to private equity firm Sycamore Partners has been announced as the Chicago-headquartered pharmacy giant said the deal would help it “accelerate” its “turnaround plan”. 

This follows recent reports that the sale of WBA to Sycamore, first mooted last December, was being “revived” after previously being downplayed as “mostly dead”. With the deal, WBA is entering private ownership after almost 100 years as a publicly traded company.

It has been widely speculated that if Walgreens managed to find a buyer for itself it would seek to divest Boots, potentially seeking a stock market flotation for the UK chain if no buyer can be found.

Yesterday’s announcement did not touch on these rumours. Sycamore managing director Stefan Kaluzny said he was “committed to stewarding the company’s iconic brands,” naming both Boots and Walgreens.

Meanwhile, WBA chief executive Tim Wentworth commented: “While we are making progress against our ambitious turnaround strategy, meaningful value creation will take time, focus and change that is better managed as a private company.

“Sycamore will provide us with the expertise and experience of a partner with a strong track record of successful retail turnarounds.”

Retail analyst Nick Bubb described Boots as “very floatable” but said that with the Sycamore takeover expected to conclude in late 2025 any attempted flotation would likely not take place “until this time next year”.

WBA shareholders will receive $11.45 per share in cash once the transaction closes, as well as the right to receive $3 per WBA share from the future sale of WBA’s debt and equity interests in VillageMD, a chain of US clinics many of which are co-located with Walgreens branches.