Boots could be sold by the end of year

Boots could be sold or floated by the end of the year as its American parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance looks to focus more on its US business.

According to This is Money, investors and board members want Walgreens to separate off its international business as soon as possible and have been putting pressure on executive chairman Stefano Pessina and chief executive Rosalind Brewer to speed up plans to refocus Walgreens on the US.

This will include the implementation of a new strategy and moving Walgreens away from traditional retail and concentrating more on US private healthcare.

Walgreens previously put Boots up for sale in January 2022 with a price tag of £7 billion but abandoned the plan last June after it failed to find a suitable buyer. At the time, Walgreens Boots Alliance said it would be focusing on the retailer’s growth and profitability.