(Reuters) -Walgreens Boots Alliance is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The second-largest U.S. pharmacy chain operator had previously tried to file for bankruptcy in 2019, but failed. At the time, its value was estimated at more than $55 billion.
Since then, its pharmacy and retail businesses have struggled and the company had announced in October that it would close 1,200 stores over the next three years.
Walgreens’ market value is now about $7.65 billion, while its stock is down 64% this year. The company’s shares rose nearly 20% after the report.
The pharmacy chain and Sycamore have discussed a deal that could be completed early next year, assuming the talks do not fall through, the report said.
Walgreens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Any deal would be a big bite for Sycamore, a New York-based firm that specializes in retail and consumer investments and has recently become better known for smaller deals, the report said.
Sycamore would likely sell parts of the company or work with partners, one of the people said, WSJ reported.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
