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Three weeks after it was reported that a potential sale of Walgreens Boots Alliance was “mostly dead,” an American TV channel has reported that it may be back on the cards – prompting WBA shares to jump by 14 per cent. 

CNBC’s David Faber said on the air on Tuesday that he was upgrading the reported $10bn takeover by private equity firm Sycamore Partners to “alive,” reigniting speculation that a sale of WBA could lead to the Boots UK business being sold or returned to the London Stock Exchange. 

Investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said the news of a potentially revived deal made the rumours of a possible listing for Boots “even more interesting”. 

Mr Coatsworth said: “If Sycamore does end up buying Walgreens, it may decide to put Boots back on the block and use its charms to find a new owner for the UK chemist.

“The two companies haven’t sat well together for some time and despite efforts to list or sell Boots, a satisfactory deal couldn’t be reached.

“A sale of Boots would be much easier to orchestrate if the narrative remains positive.

“For all of its ups and downs, Boots remains one of the strongest brands on the UK high street. Someone with enthusiasm and fresh thinking could breathe new life into the business and put it back on top.”

He added that in contrast to Boots’ strong sales performance in recent years, the US-based Walgreens chain has “suffered from weaker demand post-Covid and its growth strategy didn’t play out as expected”.

Retail sector analyst Brian Moore said that in the case of a sale Boots is likely to take “preparatory moves” to “optimise its appeal” in the short term, including optimising its margin mix and reviewing stockturn ratios.