Walgreens agrees to be acquired by private equity firm for almost $10 billion

CHICAGO — Walgreens Boots Alliance says it has agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners as the struggling retailer looks to turn itself around after years of losing money.

Walgreens said Thursday that Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share, giving the deal an equity value just under $10 billion. Shareholders could eventually receive up to another $3 per share under certain conditions.

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A buyout to take the drugstore chain private would give it more flexibility to make changes to improve its business without worrying about Wall Street’s reaction. The company has already been making some big changes as it seeks to turn around its business. Walgreens has been a public company since 1927.

Walgreens, founded in 1901, has been dealing with thin prescription reimbursement, rising costs, persistent theft and inflation-sensitive shoppers who are looking for bargains elsewhere. Walgreens is in the early stages of a plan to close 1,200 of its roughly 8,500 U.S. locations.

The Deerfield, Illinois, company had already shed about a thousand U.S. stores since it grew to nearly 9,500 after buying some Rite Aid locations in 2018.