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06 August 2012 10:36
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Walgreens, the largest pharmacy retailer in America, has announced that it has completed its initial investment in Alliance Boots Holdings Ltd, which runs the Boots, The UK's leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer.
The US pharmacy giant now has a 45% stake in Alliance Boots and has the option to buy the rest in about three years. Walgreens paid Alliance Boots US$4 billion and gave it 83.4 million of its shares. Those shares are valued at US$3.02 billion based on Wednesday's closing price of US$36.27, giving the deal a total value of US$7.02 billion.
Alliance Boots' executive chairman, Stefano Pessina, and KKR's Dominic Murphy have now joined the Walgreens board of directors, while Walgreen chief executive Gregory Wasson and three other Walgreen executives now have seats on Alliance Boots' board.
As a result of the deal, Alliance Santé Participations SA is now Walgreens' largest shareholder and it plans to keep the stake for the long term, Walgreens said. Pessina is a director of Alliance Santé, owned by a family trust.
