Walgreens in talks to sell itself to PE firm Sycamore, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Walgreens Boots Alliance is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter.

The second largest U.S. pharmacy chain operator had previously attempted to go private in 2019 but was unsuccessful. At the time, it was valued at more than $55 billion.

Since then, its pharmacy and retail businesses have struggled and the company had announced in October it would shut 1,200 stores over the next three years.

Walgreens’ market value is now about $7.65 billion, with its stock down 64% this year. Shares of the company were up nearly 20% after the report.

The pharmacy chain and Sycamore have been discussing a deal that could be completed early next year, assuming talks do not fall apart, the report added.

Walgreens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Any deal would be a big bite for Sycamore, a New York-based firm that specializes in retail and consumer investments and more recently is better known for smaller deals, the report said.

Sycamore would likely sell off pieces of the business or work with partners, one of the people said, WSJ reported.