Matheson is pleased to be advising Wittington Investments, Ltd, the holding company of the Weston family, alongside Skadden (London), on its agreement to acquire the health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain, The Boots Group (“Boots”) from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family with a deal value of close to $9 billion. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in Q1 2027.
The Matheson team was led by Corporate M&A partners Robert Maloney-Derham and Brian McCloskey along with M&A team members Dan McAleese (senior associate), Nicola McAleese (associate), Jack Kelly (solicitor) and Susana Ingle (trainee) and included expertise from across the firm including Simon Shinkwin, Niall Collins, Harry Healy, Andrew Moloney, Hadassah Laing and Laura O’Keeffe (Competition & Regulation), Paul Carroll (Banking), Cillian O’Boyle, James O’Mahony, Ciara Fitzgerald and Treasa Hayden (Commercial Real Estate), Rachel Barry and Shauna Moran (Employment), Lorcan Keenan (Pensions), and Michael Byrne and Rhona Barry (Commercial Litigation).
Robert Maloney-Derham, partner in the firm’s corporate M&A team commented:
“We are delighted to have supported Wittington Investments, Ltd on its agreement to acquire The Boots Group and to again be working alongside the Skadden team on this transaction. The Boots Group have material operations in Ireland and we look forward to supporting Wittington and Fairfax Financial as they continue to invest in store upgrades, the online retail experience and the ongoing the expansion of healthcare services at Boots.”
With a wealth of experience across our six partner led offices worldwide, Matheson has some of the most experienced corporate lawyers in Ireland. This successful transaction is a further example of the strength and depth across our market-leading Corporate M&A team and our experience delivering for clients on complex and innovative domestic and international corporate transactions across all industry sectors.
