Walgreens Boots Alliance will be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion, the buyout firm said on Thursday, closing out nearly a century of trading on public markets for the US pharmacy giant.
Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share, a premium of 8% to the stock’s closing price of $10.60 on Thursday. Shares of the company rose nearly 6% in extended trading.
The company’s market value has shrunk to just more than $9 billion from almost $100 billion a decade ago as margins on drug prices fell and consumers shifted to cheaper rivals Amazon and Walmart to fill their prescriptions and purchase toiletries.