Boots sold in $8.9bn deal to Canadian billionaire family

Boots sold in £7bn deal to Canadian billionaire family

Boots, the High Street pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in an $8.9bn (£6.7bn) deal to Canada's billionaire Weston family.

Wittington Investments, the holding company, confirmed it had agreed to buy 177-year old company on Wednesday from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.

Boots started as a simple apothecary in Nottingham but has evolved to become a familiar and trusted High Street presence, selling a vast range of health and beauty products, meal deals and travel accessories.

Galen Weston, chairman of Wittington, said Boots played "a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland".

Boots has performed well in recent years despite challenges from rivals and changing shopping habits.

Its stores have also seen lower footfall as people switched to working from home rather than visiting town and city centre offices every week day.

It has closed hundreds of branches across the UK, leaving it with about 1,800 currently and 51,000 employees.

Its ownership status has also been uncertain, with several changes of ownership under discussion and sometimes completed over the last two decades.

But Weston, who will become chairman of Boots, signalled the new owners had fresh plans for the chain, including shop upgrades and an expansion of healthcare services.

"We see 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," he said.

Boots was established by John Boot, who opened the first herbalist store in Nottingham offering an affordable alternative to traditional medicines in 1849.

The Weston family will be buying Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses. It is set be completed in early 2027.

The Weston family owns the Canadian grocery chain Loblaws, pharmacy business Shoppers Drug Mart, and previously owned the London department store Selfridges from 2003 to 2021, before selling it for $4bn.

The separate UK branch of the Weston family is the majority owner of Associated British Foods, the parent firm of Primark.

The Westons were ranked fifth on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with a combined fortune of almost £19bn.

Wittington will have operational control over Boots, it has secured ownership in partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Toronto-based holding company.

Sycamore Partners, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, will retain ownership of The Boots Group's Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany.