Sycamore Partners finishes deal to take drugstore chain Walgreens private

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DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The acquisition of Walgreens by a private equity firm is complete, ending the drugstore chain’s run as a publicly traded company.

Walgreens said Thursday that former Staples leader Mike Motz will become its new chief executive officer, replacing Tim Wentworth.

Walgreens had announced in March that it agreed to be acquired by Sycamore Partners in a deal valued at around $10 billion. Its shareholders approved that deal last month.

Walgreens, like its rivals, has been struggling with thin prescription reimbursement, persistent theft and rising operating costs among other challenges. Going private gives the company more flexibility to make changes to improve its business without worrying about Wall Street’s reaction.

The struggling drugstore chain said last fall that it planned to close 1,200 of its roughly 8,500 U.S. stores. It began this year by suspending a quarterly dividend it had offered for more than 90 years.

Shares of the Deerfield, Illinois, company, which was a Dow Jones industrial average component last year, closed Wednesday at $11.98. The stock price had climbed 28% so far this year, but it has shed most of its value since topping $97 to reaching an all-time high a decade ago.