Wittington Investments, the Weston family’s holding company, has agreed to buy Boots for about US$8.9bn including assumed debt, with Fairfax Financial (TSX: FFH) as its partner. George Weston (TSX: WN), the Canadian group controlled by Wittington, was up 1.2% in Toronto on a delayed quote.
George Weston traded at 100.94 Canadian dollars at about 3.47pm UK time, against a previous close of 99.73. The deal was announced at about 2.31pm, but timing alone does not show it drove the move. US$8.9bn is roughly £6.7bn at a GBP/USD rate of 1.3215, a conversion made by AskTraders rather than a reported figure.
Fairfax said it will commit up to about US$2.3bn of equity and expects to own 50% of the equity once the deal closes. Wittington keeps operational control, and Galen Weston is to become Boots chair. Prem Watsa, Fairfax Chairman and CEO, welcomed the partnership with Galen Weston and the Wittington team.
The purchase covers Boots UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, the No7 Beauty Company and the Thailand franchised businesses. The German and Mexican businesses are excluded and stay with their current owner. The sellers are majority owner Sycamore Partners and Stefano Pessina and family, and Boots chief executive Alex Baldock continues in the role.
Galen Weston set out the thinking behind the bid:
We see a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better, through stable, long-term ownership, capital investment and renewed operating focus required to serve customers with excellence for generations to come.
Galen Weston
Wittington already controls Loblaw, the Canadian retailer with more than 2,800 locations including Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies, and owned the Selfridges department store group from 2003 to 2021. Sycamore hired consultants in April to prepare a possible 2027 listing, and Boots’ latest annual profit rose 24% to £260m.
This is mainly a read on who owns British pharmacy and retail: the listed names in play, George Weston and Fairfax, are both Canadian. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027.
