The UK’s Boots chain could soon be under new ownership, but not as current parent Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) had originally planned. 

WBA has been investigating a sale of the now-turned-around UK chain for some time, but it hasn’t found a buyer prepared to pay its price, which had been reported to be around £7 billion. Instead, US-based WBA itself is in talks on a $10 billion+ takeover bid for its entire business.

But while that could mean Boots passing into new hands as part of the deal, it could also trigger a new auction process for the retailer to become a standalone business again.

There have been reports that private equity firm Sycamore Partners is negotiating to buy WBA with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first breaking the news, although none of the parties said to be involved have commented.

The talks come after WBA’s market value plummeted this year so it was worth less than $8 billion based on its share price in recent months. The shares are down over 60% this year but news of the talks saw the price leaping almost 17% for a market value of over $9 billion.

WSJ also said that Stefano Pessina, the Italian dealmaker who holds around a 17% stake in WBA and was crucial in taking Boots into the Walgreens set-up, could play a central role if the major UK health & beauty chain is carved out of the business.

A source said Pessina could emerge as the majority owner of Boots, depending on any deal’s structure.

Boots has faced major challenges in recent decades and has closed a raft of stores in the UK. But lately it has been a shining light for WBA, which has turned in an otherwise sluggish performance. As Boots’ results have improved, its parent has tried at least twice to sell the business but, as mentioned, no prospective new owner was prepared to meet the ambitious multibillion dollar price tag.

Boots dates back to 1849 when John Boot opened a herbal remedies store in Nottingham. By 1933 it had 1,000 stores and store numbers topped 2,000 as the last century wore on. Pessina merged his Alliance UniChem and Boots in 2006 and took it private a year later. Walgreens acquired a 45% stake in Alliance Boots in 2012 and in 2014 took complete ownership.

With the business struggling in the face of both physical stores and online competition, it closed multiple locations and now operates around 1,900 stores while employing 52,000 people. But it has bounced back strongly and remains a major player in the UK health & beauty market.