Walgreens reportedly shelves plans for Boots IPO

Walgreens Boots Alliance has reportedly shelved plans for a potential initial public offering of its UK-based Boots drugstore chain as sale talks continue, according to a Bloomberg News report on Friday, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.

WBA is now exploring other options for Boots and has continued informal talks with potential buyers, including private equity firms, in recent weeks, per the report, which also noted that deliberations are ongoing and Walgreens has made no final decisions on its future ownership of Boots.

Last month, Bloomberg News had reported any deal for Boots would value it at around 7 billion pounds.

[Read more: Walgreens names Tim Wentworth as next CEO]

In 2022, Walgreens had scrapped preliminary plans to sell the unit. However, it revived discussions on separating Boots, including the possibility of an IPO in London, late last year.

[Read more: Walgreens Boots Alliance sells shares of Cencora for $674M of initial proceeds]