Australian pharma giant Sigma Healthcare has dropped out of talks over a potential £7bn takeover of Boots.
Sigma, owner of a pharmaceutical wholesale business and retail chain in Australia, had reportedly been engaged in joint talks with ABF’s majority owner the Weston family.
“Sigma engaged in the Boots sale process given the potentially unique opportunity it presented to accelerate its UK expansion through the market-leading Boots brand and large footprint,” Sigma said in an update to investors.
“However, following its preliminary review the company has concluded that such an acquisition would not currently meet its strategic and capital investment objectives.”
The company said it would continue to assess opportunities including potential acquisitions in all markets that could deliver on its strategy.
Boots declined to comment.
Sycamore Partners, which bought Boots’ parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance in August last year, had been expected to float the UK health & beauty retailer on the London Stock Exchange before news emerged of talks over a sale last week. The announcement in May of outgoing Currys chief Alex Baldock as Boots’ new CEO from autumn was seen as a boost for Boots’ stock market appeal. Baldock is widely credited with saving Currys, and the electrical chain’s stock market value fell by more than £160m the day his departure was announced in March.
Plans for a potential London float of Boots were also shelved by Walgreens in 2024, a year before it agreed to the $23.7bn leverage buyout by Sycamore.
Boots last week credited demand for weight-loss jabs with boosting sales in its annual results. Pharmacy sales rose by 5% in the year to the end of August 2025 as weight-loss treatments proved “especially popular”, according to the retailer. Like-for-like retail sales rose by 5.8% while total revenue climbed 3.2% to £7.5bn. Revenue from Boots.com, including Boots Online Doctor, shot up by 18.3%.
The retailer welcomed the approval on Thursday of Wegovy weight-loss pills for prescription in the UK, saying it would give patients greater choice.
“The MHRA’s approval of the new oral Wegovy tablet is an important development for people living with obesity and those who have struggled to lose weight through lifestyle changes alone,” said Dr Anju Verma, clinical lead for the Boots Online Doctor weight-loss treatment service. “While injectable weight-loss medications have helped many people achieve significant results, they aren’t the preferred choice for everyone as some people find self-injection daunting, while others simply prefer the familiarity and convenience of taking a tablet.
“Having an effective oral treatment available gives patients and healthcare professionals greater choice when considering the most appropriate treatment approach. Weight management is not one-size-fits-all, and expanding the range of clinically proven options allows treatment decisions to be tailored more closely to an individual’s preferences, lifestyle and clinical needs.”
Weight-loss injections wiped £780m from UK household grocery spend in the year to the end of February 2026, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator on Wednesday. The proportion of households with at least one user shot from 2.3% in 2024 to 6.3% in 2026.
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