Walgreens Boots 'considering bid for Omnicare'
Walgreens Boots Alliance is said to be deciding whether to submit an $8.5bn bid for US drug company Omnicare.
According to sources cited by the Sunday Times, the group is exploring the possibility of making an offer, but stressed the situation was at a very early stage in the process.
Walgreens Boots, which was formed following the £9bn merger of Alliance Boots with Walgreens, operates 11,000 stores and has 350,000 employees. According to an insider spoken to by the newspaper, the company's chief executive Stefano Pessina is mulling over a potential offer despite normally avoiding auctions.
Omnicare, which supplies care homes, was put on the market in April and, according to Bloomberg sources, has already attracted interest from the likes of CVS Health Corp. and Express Scripts Holding Co.
Bank of American and Centerview have been appointed by Omnicare to handle the sale process.