Walgreens buyout to set stage for three-way split, FT reports

A buyout of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is likely to set the stage for a three-way break-up of the pharmacy chain, The Financial Times’ Ivan Levingston, Antoine Gara, Arash Massoudi and Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli report. According to people familiar with the matter, the financing for potentially taking the retailer private “is not anticipated to be an obstacle,” and while the company would initially be taken private as a whole, suitor Sycamore Partners plans to separate Walgreens’ three main businesses into their own units with distinct capital structures. Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance are up 5.5% in premarket trading.