Walgreens shelves plans for Boots IPO, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance has shelved plans for a potential initial public offering of its UK-based Boots drugstore chain as sale talks continue, Bloomberg News reported on Friday citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The pharmacy chain is now exploring other options for Boots and has continued informal talks with potential buyers, including private equity firms, in recent weeks, according to the report.

Deliberations are ongoing and Walgreens has made no final decisions on its future ownership of Boots, the report added.

Last month, Bloomberg News had reported any deal for Boots would value it at around 7 billion pounds.

In 2022, Walgreens had scrapped preliminary plans to sell the unit. However, it revived discussions on separating Boots, including the possibility of an IPO in London, late last year.

($1 = 0.7860 pounds)

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)