Boots owner offloads £4.8bn pension scheme
Boots has agreed to transfer £4.8bn of pension obligations to insurer Legal & General in a deal that potentially paves the way for a sale by owner Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Legal & General will take on the assets and liabilities of the scheme, which covers 53,000 current and future retirees, in one of the largest-ever transactions in the UK.
By offloading Boots’ pension liabilities, Walgreens Boots Alliance has removed an obstacle towards potentially selling the business.
It attempted to sell the company last year but abandoned the attempt due to “unexpected and dramatic” changes in market conditions.
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