Key Summary
- Alex Baldock is set to become CEO of Boots and lead its possible London stock market listing.
- Boots owner Sycamore Partners bought the retailer from Walgreens Boots Alliance in a £17.8bn deal.
- Analysts value a standalone Boots at up to £7bn, with Baldock overseeing Boots, Boots Opticians and No7 Beauty Company.
The outgoing chief executive of Currys, Alex Baldock, is set to join Boots as chief executive later in the year and facilitate its stock market listing, Sky News has reported.
Under Baldock’s leadership, the pharmacy chain is expected to get listed in the London stock market.
Boots’ owner Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, took over the company from its parent firm Walgreens Boots Alliance last year.
Sycamore bought Boots from Walgreens for around £17.8 billion, including debt.
According to analysts, if Boots gets listed as a standalone company, it could be worth between £5bn and £7bn.
Baldock will be responsible for the operations in the UK, Ireland, Thailand, Boots Opticians, and the No7 beauty company.
He will succeed Anthony Hemmerdinger, who is currently senior vice president and managing director of Boots in the UK and Ireland.
Baldock will join Boots by Spring after an eight-year tenure in Currys, becoming the second person from the electrical retailer to join Boots after its ex-CEO Sebastian James in 2018.
