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DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The acquisition of Walgreens by a private
equity firm is complete, ending the drugstore chain’s run as a
publicly traded company.
Walgreens said Thursday that former Staples leader Mike Motz
will become its new chief executive officer, replacing Tim
Wentworth.
Walgreens had announced in March that it agreed to be acquired
by Sycamore Partners in a deal valued at around $10 billion. Its
shareholders approved that deal last month.
Walgreens, like its rivals, has been struggling with thin
prescription reimbursement, persistent theft and rising
operating costs among other challenges. Going private gives the
company more flexibility to make changes to improve its business
without worrying about Wall Street’s reaction.
The struggling drugstore chain said last fall that it planned to
close 1,200 of its roughly 8,500 U.S. stores. It began this year
by suspending a quarterly dividend it had offered for more than
90 years.
Shares of the Deerfield, Illinois, company, which was a Dow
Jones industrial average component last year, closed Wednesday
at $11.98. The stock price had climbed 28% so far this year, but
it has shed most of its value since topping $97 to reaching an
all-time high a decade ago.
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