Alliance Boots boosted by new Walgreen partnership synergies
HEALTHCARE giant Alliance Boots, owner of the high street Boots stores, has found more synergies than expected so far with American pharmacy chain Walgreen, as it posted a 18.5 per cent rise in underlying profit yesterday.
The firm reported sales for the year to March that rose 4.3 per cent to £23.4bn, with £840m in profit.
Walgreen bought a 45 per cent stake in Alliance Boots in 2012, with the remaining 55 per cent owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Stefano Pessina.
Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina said: “Our transformational partnership with Walgreens, our joint agreement with AmerisourceBergen, our geographical expansion in Latin America and Asia and all the work we have done to develop our brands are enabling the group to continue on its path to becoming the clear world leader in both retail pharmacy and pharmaceutical wholesaling.”
ALLIANCE BOOTS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH WALGREEN
1. $6.7bn
The amount Walgreen paid for its 45 per cent stake in Alliance in 2012
2. 3,100 stores
The number of stores operated by Alliance in the UK, of these 3,000 include pharmacies
3. 2015
When Walgreen will have the option to buy the remaining 55 per cent of Alliance for $9.5bn