// Walgreens risks shedding billions after the one-time favourite to purchase Boots valued the retailer at a steep low cost
// CVC and Bain indicated that they had been prepared to pay only £4bn for Boots
Walgreens could lose billions on Boots after the retailer was valued at a steep discount.
US giant Walgreens has been eyeing a £7 billion sale, however a consortium that was interested in buying Boots has suggested it would only pay £4 billion.
According to The Telegraph, private equity firms CVC and Bain, which withdrew from takeover talks in March, have suggested they would only pay a price tag of £4bn for Boots.
Walgreens acquired Boots back in 2014 for £9bn, but is now hoping to sell for only £7bn after previously selling the company’s wholesale arm.
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Citing City sources, the newspaper said the low valuation was significant as CVC’s UK chief Dominic Murphy is a Walgreens board member and has spent 15 years working with Boots.
“He [Murphy] knows where the bodies are buried,” the newspaper quoted one City source as stating.
A spokesperson for Boots confirmed that CVC and Bain never lodged a formal offer for the company.
The billionaire brothers behind Asda, Zuber and Mohsin Issa, are also continuing to look at buying Boots, alongside private equity firms Apollo World Administration and Sycamore Capital, which recently sent two takeover proposals to Ted Baker which were rejected.
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