The owner of Loblaw is close to buying the Boots Group from Sycamore Partners for nearly $9 billion, various publications reported.
The sale to the Weston family, whose Canadian supermarket chain owns Shoppers Drug Mart, could take place as soon as next week, the publications said.
Sycamore took Walgreens Boots Alliance private last year in a $10 billion deal, excluding debt. With its closing, Walgreens, the Boots Group, Shields Health Solutions, CareCentrix and VillageMD became independent companies.
With 3,776 retail stores globally, Boots' principal brands include 1,800 eponymous stores in the UK; Boots outlets in Thailand and Ireland; Farmacias Benavides in Mexico; and Boots Opticians in the UK. The brand also has a growing presence through franchise partnerships in the Middle East and Indonesia.
Its pharmaceutical wholesale business in Germany operates under the Alliance Healthcare Deutschland and GEHE names.
Its No7 Beauty Co. manages a portfolio of beauty brands including No7, Liz Earle, Soap & Glory, Botanics, Sleek MakeUP and Aromatherapy Associates.
The Weston family owned the British department store chain Selfridges before selling it in 2022.
Walgreens was trying to rebound when Sycamore acquired it in the summer of 2025. Its market value had plummeted from around $100 billion in 2015.
Selling Boots at the reported price would bring a big profit to Sycamore. It would also let the private equity firm concentrate on turning around Walgreens, which reportedly has scaled back store closure plans.
