Walgreens, owner of key CT healthcare companies, announces plans to go private in $10B deal

Hartford Business Journal – Friday, March 7, 2025
By Greg Bordonaro

Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance announced late Thursday it will go private, but the $10 billion deal will impact more than just the company’s brick-and-mortar pharmacies in Connecticut.

Walgreens, which has struggled amid rising competition and changes in the retail and healthcare industries, said it has reached a deal to be purchased by New York City private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore has agreed to pay $11.45 a share in cash for Walgreens. The total value of the deal could reach $24 billion, including future payouts and debt, the companies said.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Walgreens, which operates pharmacies in about 72 Connecticut municipalities, announced plans in 2024 to close 1,200 retail sites over three years. It recently closed locations in Hartford and New Haven.

But the company has made deeper inroads in the state beyond retail locations.

In 2023, Walgreens fully purchased Hartford-based CareCentrix, which uses advanced analytics technology to coordinate at-home care for millions of patients around the country.

Walgreens on Aug. 31, 2022, bought a 55% stake in CareCentrix for $339 million. Months later, in March 2023, Walgreens paid $378 million for the remaining stake in CareCentrix.

Walgreens also owns a stake in VillageMD, which in 2023 purchased Rocky Hill-based Starling Physicians, one of central Connecticut’s largest physician groups.

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