Reliance Industries encounter a setback in its attempt to acquire UK-based chemist and drugstore chain Boots

Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, has faced a setback in its pursuit of acquiring the UK-based chemist and drugstore chain Boots. Walgreens Boots Alliance, the American retail giant, has decided to withdraw from the sale talks, according to a report by the Hindu Businessline.

Walgreens, who had been seeking a buyer for Boots, stated that none of the bids received adequately reflected the potential value of the drugstore chain.

Earlier reports on June 9 revealed that Apollo Global Management and Reliance Industries had submitted a binding bid of approximately $7.3 billion for the acquisition of Boots. Walgreens had put the business up for sale in December, with an expected valuation of around $8.9 billion.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Walgreens explained that due to the severe impact of market instability on financing availability, no third party had been able to make an offer that adequately reflected the high potential value of Boots and the No7 Beauty Company. As a result, Walgreens had decided that it is in the best interests of shareholders to focus on further growth and profitability of the two businesses.

Walgreens also noted that it had engaged in productive discussions with various parties and received significant interest from prospective buyers. However, unforeseen and drastic changes in the global financial markets since the sale process began have led to this outcome.

According to a report by the Sun, Boots is planning to close 300 stores across the UK within the next year, reducing its store portfolio from approximately 2,200 to 1,900. The specific locations of the closures have not been confirmed, but it is believed that the affected shops will be those in close proximity to another site.

Boots stated in its quarterly results that it will be consolidating a number of stores located near each other over the next year. This strategic move aims to allocate its team members more efficiently and focus investment on individual stores, ensuring a consistently excellent and modernized service.

Despite the store closures, Boots has assured that there will be no redundancies resulting from these measures. The company currently employs over 52,000 team members.