Walgreens jumped on board the private equity rescue ship named Sycamore Partners earlier this year and late August the deal worth $10 billion was completed.
While some say the sale to private equity was necessary as retail health faces numerous headwinds, at least one industry follower is concerned about what’s ahead for Walgreens. Private equity firms typically try to exit a company five to seven years after buying it.
“Healthcare is a long-term industry. It’s about long-term health. It’s about maintaining people’s health over decades. Private equity’s business model just inherently is short-term based. They are looking to get a company, profit off of it, exit the company in whatever way that is, whether it be bankruptcy or IPO or selling it off to another private equity firm,” said Matt Parr, communications director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit that has been tracking private equity moves.
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