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Mukesh Ambani's RIL and US's Apollo Global Management have made a binding offer to acquire the pharmacy chain Boots.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is Anglo-Swiss-American integrated healthcare, pharmacy, and retail leader serving millions of customers and patients every day, with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities.
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The company has over 13,000 locations across the USA, Europe, and Latin America with an employee count of over 315,000. It has its presence in 9 different countries with its portfolio of consumer brands: Walgreens, Boots, Duane Reade, the No7 Beauty Company, Benavides in Mexico, and Ahumada in Chile.
The consortium of RIL-Apollo is moving closer to acquiring the pharmaceutical retail brand as it has submitted a binding offer that is backed by committed financing. The consortium is reported to have been in talks with global financial giants like HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America, MUFG, and Barclays for financing. Both partners are going to split the debt and equity components of the financing equally.
The bid has valued the business at $6.3 billion or £5 billion, which, if completed, would be Reliance's largest cross-border acquisition. Reports suggest the winner of the bid could be decided in the coming weeks.
The sale of Boots was first reported in December 2021 and Walgreens had been aiming for a valuation of £7 billion. CVC Capital and Bain Capital had once shown interest in the company but subsequently withdrew. TDR & billionaires Mohsin & Zuber Issa, who are also in the fray, have been considering walking away due to the difference in prices.
Walgreens is reported to keep some stake in the business after the sale. The shares of WBA have been declining ever since January 2022 as it closed 1.6% at $41.72 per share, marking a loss of 21.4% to investors since the beginning of 2022.
Article of Aman Agarwal.
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