伦敦，10月8日——尽管Boots一直是英国主流零售业的支柱企业，但其所有权结构却经历了持续的变化。去年，收购型投资公司Sycamore Partners在收购Walgreens Boots Alliance时，才获得了这家连锁药店的控制权。如今，在KKR（KKR.N）将其私有化近二十年后，该集团似乎已在加拿大的Weston家族中找到了长期所有者。89亿美元（67亿英镑）的收购价看起来合理，前提是新买家能为Boots的复苏注入新的活力。
LONDON, Oct 8 - While a stalwart of the UK high street, Boots' ownership structure has seen constant change. Buyout shop Sycamore Partners only acquired the drugstore group as part of its purchase of Walgreens Boots Alliance last year. Now, some two decades after it was taken private by KKR (KKR.N), opens new tab and Stefano Pessina, the group appears to have found a long-term owner in Canada’s Weston family. The $8.9 billion price (£6.7 billion) tag looks fair, provided the buyers can give Boots' recovery a shot in the arm.
Weston家族过往的业绩——他们拥有加拿大最大的连锁超市Loblaw和连锁药店Shoppers Drug Mart——表明他们与Boots的契合度很高。此前，Boots因频繁的所有权变更以及在美国大型集团中仅占较小份额而备受困扰。虽然前母公司Walgreens曾投资Boots的旗舰门店并优化其门店网络，但银行家们向Breakingviews透露，这家英国集团的门店布局仍需全面改造。
The family's track record – owning grocery chain Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada's largest pharmacy group – suggests it’s a good fit for Boots, which has suffered from the endless ownership changes and being a small part of the much larger U.S. entity. While former parent Walgreens did invest in Boots' flagship stores and rationalise the estate, bankers told Breakingviews that the UK group's locations still need an overhaul.
Weston家族似乎已将这一因素纳入考量，其报价远低于《金融时报》6月报道的潜在售价100亿美元。除了翻新老旧的门店外，Weston家族及其共同所有者Fairfax Financial（FFH.TO）或许还希望通过提升线上销售、提供更多高毛利健康与美容产品来重振Boots的业绩。
The Westons seem to have factored that in, offering a big discount to the $10 billion valuation that the Financial Times reported, opens new tab as a potential sale price in June. Besides sprucing up tired shops, the Westons and co-owner Fairfax Financial (FFH.TO), opens new tab may be hoping to revive Boots' fortunes by boosting online sales and offering more high-margin health and beauty products.
《Misinformation Monitor》时事通讯会汇总全球范围内的虚假信息叙事，每期均附有“真还是假？”趣味测试。
Assume Boots grows sales by 3.5% this year – in line with the previous two – and that the new regime is able to boost that rate to an average of 5% over the following three years, bringing revenue to £9 billion in 2029.
假设Boots今年的销售额增长3.5%——与过去两年保持一致——并且新管理层能够在接下来的三年里将这一增长率提升至平均5%，那么到2029年，其收入将达到90亿英镑。若采用与Weston家族旗下Loblaw相同的7%利润率，并扣除税款，Boots在2029年应能实现超过4.7亿英镑的税后净营业利润。根据纽约大学斯特恩商学院的数据，这将使新所有者获得略高于7%的年度回报率，与该行业的资本成本相当（打开新标签页）。
Apply a margin of 7%, in line with the Weston family's Loblaw, take off tax, and Boots should bring over £470 million in net operating profit after tax in 2029. This should give the new owners an annual return of just over 7%, in line with the sector's cost of capital, per NYU Stern, opens new tab.
这些回报或许并非私募股权投资公司所追求的那种快速收益，但对于长期投资者而言，仍是一项相当可观的成果。Weston家族收购了一个值得信赖的品牌，这在零售业中已成功了一半。现在的问题在于，他们是否有足够的耐心来最大化这一品牌的潜力。
These might not be the sort of rapid returns private equity shops are after, but it would still be a respectable outcome for a long-term investor. The Westons have bought a trusted brand, which is half the battle in retail. Now it’s a question of being patient enough to maximise its potential.
加拿大Weston家族于10月7日同意以89亿美元的价格从Sycamore Partners、Pessina家族以及Fairfax Financial手中收购Boots，该交易还包括承接部分债务。
Canada’s Weston family agreed on October 7 to buy Boots from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family, alongside Fairfax Financial, in an $8.9 billion deal including assumed debt.
Weston的控股公司Wittington Investments表示，它将收购Boots在英国和爱尔兰的零售业务、Boots Opticians和No7 Beauty Company，以及其在泰国和特许经营的业务。预计交易完成后，Fairfax将持有Boots 50%的股权，而Wittington将拥有运营控制权。
Wittington Investments, a Weston holding company, said it would purchase Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians and the No7 Beauty Company, as well as its Thailand and franchised businesses. Fairfax is expected to hold 50% of Boots' equity after closing, while Wittington will have operational control.
Weston集团拥有加拿大食品零售商Loblaw以及加拿大最大的健康与美容零售商Shoppers Drug Mart。Weston家族的英国分支则是Primark母公司Associated British Foods的最大股东。
The Weston group owns Canadian grocer Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada's largest health and beauty retailer. The British side of the Weston family is the majority shareholder of Primark-owner Associated British Foods.
作者为路透社Breakingviews专栏作家，文中观点为其个人意见。重新上传以在第一段中补上被遗漏的“drugstore”一词。
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to add dropped word “drugstore” in paragraph one.
Breakingviews（路透社旗下财经评论品牌） Breakingviews是全球最具影响力的财经评论机构，致力于为投资者提供具有前瞻性的市场分析。作为路透社旗下的财经评论品牌，我们每天都会深入剖析全球发生的重大商业与经济事件。我们的团队由约30名记者组成，他们分布在纽约、伦敦、香港等主要城市，能够实时提供专业的市场分析。
Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.
詹妮弗·约翰逊（Jennifer Johnson）詹妮弗·约翰逊是Breakingviews驻伦敦的专栏作家，主要负责报道欧洲的科技、媒体和电信行业。她此前曾在《Investors’ Chronicle》杂志担任记者，并拥有伦敦城市大学（City, University of London）颁发的金融新闻学硕士学位。
Jennifer Johnson is a London-based columnist for Breakingviews, where she covers European tech, media and telecoms. She was previously a reporter for the Investors’ Chronicle and she holds a master’s degree in financial journalism from City, University of London.
市场动态：周四，全球股市普遍下跌：美国科技股和人工智能相关股票跌幅尤为明显，投资者对人工智能产业盈利能力的担忧日益加剧。尽管美国总统唐纳德·特朗普承诺在11月3日的美国中期选举前不会攻击伊朗，但油价仍大幅上涨；同时，美国长期国债收益率的下降也未能为股市带来支撑。
Stocks mostly fell on Thursday, with US tech and AI chalking up notable losses as worries intensified over the AI revolution's profitability. Oil prices rose sharply, shrugging off a pledge by US President Donald Trump not to attack Iran before the November 3 US midterm elections, while a slide in long-dated US bond yields also failed to give equities much support.