Boots owner Walgreens is set to hand over £1bn to pay for the British company’s pension scheme, ahead of relaunching a sale process.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is understood to be closing in on a deal to relinquish responsibility for its £4.5bn defined benefit pension scheme to financial services company Legal & General.

It is thought that it will need to pay  Legal & General £1bn to accept the scheme.

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It is thought offloading the scheme is a precursor to Walgreens reinitiating a sale of Boots after its abandoned process last year.

The pension sale would strike off the guarantee the American chain had given to the scheme, which deterred private equity firms from buying the business.

Earlier this year, Boots announced plans to close 300 UK stores over the next 12 months as it sought to “consolidate” the business.

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