(Reuters) – Sycamore Partners plans to split Walgreens’ three main businesses into separate units with distinct capital structures after taking the pharmacy chain private, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Walgreens has reportedly been in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore, but no deal has been reached yet.
Shares of Walgreens rose nearly 5% to $11.57 in premarket trading.
The financing of the take-private deal is not expected to be an obstacle, according to the report. Stefano Pessina, executive chair of Walgreens, is expected to maintain a significant share of the company as part of the deal, it added.
Sycamore declined to comment to a Reuters request, while Walgreens did not immediately respond.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shailesh Kuber)
