CANADA'S WESTON FAMILY BUYS BOOTS IN £6.7BN DEAL

Wittington Investments, the holding company of Canada's Weston family, has agreed to buy UK pharmacy and beauty retailer Boots for $8.9bn (£6.74bn), according to the Guardian. The Weston family previously owned Selfridges department store and controls the Loblaws grocery chain and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy outlets in Canada. Wittington will take ownership of Boots' UK and Irish retail operations, its opticians chain, the No7 beauty brand and a franchise arm in Thailand. The deal is also backed by investment firm Fairfax, which owns the Sporting Life Group and Sleep Country, Canada's largest mattress retailer, which in turn owns Simba Sleep in the UK. Galen Weston, chair of Wittington, said he is likely to become chair of Boots and described the retailer as "one of Britain's most enduring businesses" with "a trusted name and a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland."

Boots is headquartered in Nottingham, operates 1,800 stores across the UK and employs 50,000 people, according to the report. The transaction marks the exit of long-term backer Stefano Pessina, who took Boots private in 2007 with backing from investment firm KKR, and its most recent owner, financial firm Sycamore Partners. Pessina said it had been "one of the privileges" of his and his wife Ornella's life to have been closely associated with Boots over the past 20 years. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, the Guardian reported.

Boots has had a prolonged path to new ownership. US pharmacy group Walgreens put the chain up for sale in 2022 with a suggested price tag of up to £10bn, but later dropped those plans after potential buyers, including Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, private equity investor Apollo Global Management and Asda owners TDR Capital, struggled to raise funds. A separate plan to float Boots at a valuation of around £7bn was abandoned in 2024. The Daily Mail also reported the Weston family's agreed purchase price at £6.7bn.