Walgreens Boots Alliance is currently seeking a buyer for its UK-based Boots chain as it tries to separate the units.
The news was reported by Bloomberg News on Monday, which sent the business’s shares up nearly 5%.
Walgreens is working with advisers to carry out preliminary discussions with prospective buyers.
This is its second attempt to separate the UK health and beauty retailer from the main business.
The unit is thought to be worth about £7 billion, the report stated, citing people familiar with the development.
Walgreens declined to respond to Reuters request for comment.
Michael Cherny, an analyst at Leerink Partners said in a note, “From a strategic perspective, this makes sense to us as it would enable Walgreens to focus on its core US Retail Pharmacy operations while also managing the US Healthcare business.”
Walgreens scrapped preliminary plans to sell the Boots unit in 2022.
However, it revived discussions on separating Boots from the business, including the possibility of an initial public offering in London, according to a Bloomberg report late last year.
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