Race For Boots Moving Ahead With Owners Of Asda In The Running
Namnews, 21st March 2022 Bidders for Boots are set to meet with the retailer’s management this week as the takeover race intensifies despite the volatile market conditions. According to The Sunday Times, US private equity firms Apollo and Sycamore Partners are among the firms to have submitted non-binding bids for Boots thought to be worth around £7bn. They are competing against the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, who want to add the health & beauty chain to their retail empire, which includes Asda and the EG Group. Three weeks ago , a consortium comprising of Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners pulled out of the race due to the price expectations of the retailer’s owner, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). They had been regarded as frontrunners because of the involvement of Dominic Murphy, a CVC partner who has been a key figure in Boots’ ownership over the last 15 years. Yesterday’s report by The Sunday Times quoted a source close to WBA that said “four or five” interested parties r...