Boots to be ‘booted’ from WBA? Bloomberg and other sources on Monday reported that WBA is now once again searching for buyers for the UK-based Boots pharmacy chain. Earlier reports from end of 2023 into Q1 [TTA 5 March] that it was up for sale were later denied. WBA is at a preliminary stage in working with advisers to seek out some buyers.
The price will be steep. Boots’ estimated value is £7 billion (about $8.78 billion). One rumored possibility other than a sale is a UK IPO. The news sent WBA shares up by 5% during Monday trading to a close of $18.12. If a sale or spinoff does go through, it will bring to an end an unusual trans-Atlantic alliance for Walgreens, though other than some Boots beauty products in the No. 7 line, there’s little crossover between the two chains, at least here in the US. Reuters, Crain’s Chicago Business
Meanwhile, back in the trenches, Walgreens’ Chicago-area pharmacists wrapped up on Friday a month-long protest at Walgreens’ Deerfield HQ. These actions, which have been rolling since last year, center around increased staff and hour cutbacks plus the rise of telepharmacy. This replaces pharmacists with technicians for filling prescriptions, with patient questions answered by a remote pharmacist via an iPad. Pharmacists represented by the National Pharmacists Association-Laborers’ International Union of North America (NPhA-LIUNA) have been working without a contract since last May. In the past seven years, they have received a 2% wage increase. The local dispute has been mirrored at Walgreens and CVS locations nationwide. Crain’s Chicago Business
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