If Walgreens accepts the bid by the Mukesh Ambani-led company, it will be the largest cross-border acquisition by India’s most valuable company, reported Mint
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Apollo Global Management Inc. have become the strongest contender to acquire Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s Boots pharmacies unit in the UK, Mint quoted two persons who were associated with the deal for the report.
The two RIL and Apollo have valued the assets in the range of $7-8 billion. Walgreens, based in Chicago, put its Boots business on the block in December, seeking a valuation of $8.8 billion. The US drugstore chain also runs more than 2,200 Boots pharmacies across the UK, Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Indonesia. If Walgreens accepts the bid by the Mukesh Ambani-led company, it will be the largest cross-border acquisition by India’s most valuable company, reported Mint.
A consortium backed by British billionaire brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, co-founders of Euro Garages (the owner of a chain of petrol filling stations) and the majority stakeholders in supermarket group Asda (held through a consortium with TDR Capital), withdrew from the race after they failed to agree on the valuation
The Boots acquisition will expand RIL’s presence in the healthcare sector. Incidentally, RIL had acquired a 60% stake in Chennai-based online pharmacy startup Netmeds in 2020 for ?620 crore. After the sale, Walgreens could retain a stake in the business after the deal, according to the report by Mint.
A consortium backed by British billionaire brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, co-founders of Euro Garages (the owner of a chain of petrol filling stations) and the majority stakeholders in supermarket group Asda (held through a consortium with TDR Capital), withdrew from the race after they failed to agree on the valuation, according to reports.
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