Boots to Be Sold to Canadian Billionaire Weston Family in £7bn Deal

The Canadian arm of the billionaire Weston family is in advanced talks to acquire Boots from private-equity firm Sycamore Partners for about £7 billion. A deal could be reached as soon as next week, according to reports. The proposed sale would end Sycamore’s consideration of a possible London stock-market listing for the UK pharmacy chain. Talks have faced setbacks: an earlier Weston bid was rejected after the offer was reduced, and negotiations stalled over the summer. Boots has declined to comment on the reported discussions.