India’s Reliance Industries is weighing up an offer for Boots and its 2,200 shops.
Walgreens Boots Alliance said in January that it was conducting a strategic review of the UK pharmacy chain, with analysts pricing a sale at about £7bn.
Reliance is in the early stages of exploring a bid, according to Bloomberg, joining TDR Capital, a consortium of CVC Capital Partners and Bain Capital, and US investment firm Apollo as suitors tipped to have weighed up bids. There is no certainty that Reliance, run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will make a bid for Boots.
It is thought that any successful bidder will expand primary healthcare services, turning Boots stores into medical hubs, offering blood tests, jabs and services such as physiotherapy. Attempts to strike healthcare partnerships with the NHS are also likely.
