CVC Capital Partners and Bain Capital have abandoned a multibillion-pound joint bid for pharmacy and retailer Boots, clearing the way for other frontrunners to acquire the company.
Sky News reported that the bidders for Boots' £6bn acquisition have withdrawn their offer.
With Bain and CVC exiting the field, Asda, Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Sycamore Capital are competing to take over.
It is understood that bidders have floated bids north of £6bn.
As a result of Boot's owner Walgreens Boots Alliance's expectations on price, the consortium withdrew its bid in Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)' auction process.
For months, Bain and CVC had been talking about a joint bid for the chemist, with one of CVC's partners, Dominic Murphy, expected to play an important role in the bid given his experience as a director of Walgreens Boots Alliance and his work with Boots while at private equity firm KKR.
Walgreen Boots Alliance, which formed in 2014 when Walgreens purchased the remaining 55% it did not already own, will break up once any sale is completed.
Reports indicated that bidders for Boots were considering options for addressing huge pension liabilities guaranteed by WBA
Boots pension trustees will, however, seek substantial additional funding in the event of a leveraged buyout.
With an estimated £8bn in assets, Boots' pension fund is one of the largest in the country.
With more than 2,000 stores and more than 50,000 employees, Boots is one of the largest employers in the private sector.
A restructuring of its Nottingham head office and store management teams resulted in 4000 job cuts at Boots in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Also, it has been battling landlords over delayed rent payments.