Canada's billionaire Weston family has agreed to buy Boots for £6.7bn from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.
Wittington Investments, the family's holding company, confirmed the deal on Wednesday. The transaction values the 177-year-old pharmacy and retail chain at $8.9bn. The sale is expected to complete in early 2027.
Boots operates roughly 1,800 stores across the UK and Ireland and employs 51,000 people. The chain generated £7.5bn in sales in its most recent annual results, a 3.2% increase on the prior year. In recent years, it has closed hundreds of branches as customers shifted to remote working and reduced visits to city centre offices.
The Weston family's purchase includes Boots' UK and Ireland retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses. Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family will retain ownership of Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany. Wittington will have operational control, having secured the deal in partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Toronto-based holding company.
Galen Weston, who will become chairman, stated the owners saw "a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership, further capital investment, and the renewed operating focus required to serve customers with excellence for generations to come."
Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said shoppers were unlikely to see immediate changes but should expect "an improved shopping experience as the new owners invest in the business" over time. She identified health and beauty as "a massive area for growth."
The Weston family owns Canada's Loblaws grocery chain and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy business. The UK branch of the family is the majority owner of Associated British Foods, parent firm of Primark. The Westons were ranked fifth on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with a combined fortune of almost £19bn. They previously owned London's Selfridges department store from 2003 to 2021, selling it for $4bn.
Sycamore Partners owned Boots for only 18 months. Shuttleworth said the frequent changes of ownership had been "an unhelpful distraction" for the business.