Walgreens Boots (WBA.US) Rises Over 7.5% On $10B Private Transaction

Walgreens Boots (WBA.US) shares rose on Friday, up more than 7.5% at the time of writing to $11.41. The company has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Sycamore Partners for about $10 billion in equity value. Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share in cash for Walgreens Boots, a premium of about 8% to the stock's closing price on Thursday. In the future, Walgreens Boots will sell its primary care businesses, including Village Medical, Summit Health and CityMD, and shareholders will also receive up to $3 per share. Walgreens Boots said the total value of the deal, including debt and potential future expenses, would be up to $23.7 billion. Walgreens Boots and Sycamore expect to complete the deal in the fourth quarter of this year.