英国连锁药店Boots是英国最知名的零售商之一。加拿大最大连锁药店和食品杂货店的幕后家族，正通过收购英国药妆店Boots来扩大其商业帝国。
U.K pharmacy chain Boots is one of Britain's most prominent retailers The family behind Canada's biggest pharmacy and grocery chains is growing its empire with the acquisition of U.K. drugstore Boots.
韦斯顿家族控股公司Wittington Investments周三表示，将以89亿美元（约合127亿加元）的价格，包括债务在内，从私募股权投资公司Sycamore Partners手中收购Boots。
The Weston family holding company Wittington Investments said Wednesday that it will purchase Boots for $8.9 billion US (almost $12.7 billion Cdn), including debt, from private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
除了Boots在英国和爱尔兰的零售业务外，Wittington还将收购其在泰国的业务、特许经营企业、眼科部门以及No7美容公司。
Along with Boots's retail operations in the U.K. and Ireland, Wittington will acquire its operations in Thailand and franchised businesses, its optical division and No7 Beauty Company.
总部位于多伦多的控股公司Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.将在此次收购中与Wittington合作。预计交易将于2027年第一季度完成，届时Galen Weston将出任Boots的董事长。
Toronto-based holding company Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. will partner with Wittington on the acquisition and after its closing, expected in the first quarter of 2027, Galen Weston will become Boots's chairman.
Boots是英国最知名的零售商之一，与加拿大药店巨头Shoppers Drug Mart（同样与韦斯顿家族有关联）有许多相似之处。
Boots is among Britain's most prominent retailers and has many similarities to Shoppers Drug Mart, the Canadian pharmacy giant with ties to the Westons.
韦斯顿家族在加拿大最为人所知的成就，是创建了Loblaw Companies Ltd.和George Weston Ltd.，并拥有豪华百货公司Holt Renfrew。
The Westons are best known in Canada for building Loblaw Companies Ltd. and George Weston Ltd., and owning luxury department store Holt Renfrew.
他们还持有Associated British Foods的股份，该公司是平价零售商Primark的母公司，也是Twinings茶、Mazola油、Mazzetti醋、Ovaltine和Fleischmann's酵母的生产商。
They also have a stake in Associated British Foods, the parent company of value retailer Primark and the makers of Twinings tea, Mazola oils, Mazzetti vinegars, Ovaltine and Fleischmann's yeast.
目前尚不清楚此次收购是否会将Boots带回加拿大。Boots成立于1849年，曾一度在加拿大经营。如果Boots重返加拿大，它可能会成为拥有约1350家门店的Shoppers的竞争对手。
It's unclear whether the acquisition will bring Boots, which was founded in 1849 and operated for a time in Canada, back to the country. If Boots made a Canadian return, it could become a competitor with Shoppers, which counts about 1,350 stores in Canada.
Boots目前拥有约1800家门店。今年9月底，当韦斯顿家族收购Boots的传闻出现时，RBC资本市场分析师Irene Nattel表示，这笔交易有一定合理性。
Boots has roughly 1,800 locations. When a Boots acquisition by the Westons was rumoured in late September, RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel said the deal made some sense.
她在9月30日致投资者的一份说明中写道：“我们相信，韦斯顿家族旗下的商业和投资实体拥有大量关于零售药业的组织知识和理解，如果交易最终达成，这些知识将极具价值。”
"We believe there is substantial organizational knowledge and understanding of retail pharmacy within the Weston family of businesses and investments, knowledge that would prove extremely useful should a transaction come to fruition," she wrote in a Sept. 30 note to investors.
她认为，如果这笔潜在交易通过该家族的私人投资部门Wittington完成，对Loblaws或George Weston的影响不会太大。
She didn't see a potential deal as having much impact on Loblaws or George Weston, if it was completed through the family's private investment arm Wittington.