Walgreens Turns Private, Healthcare Units Operate Separately

The deal also triggered leadership changes, with retail veteran Mike Motz appointed as the company’s CEO effective immediately.

Walgreens officially became a private company on August 28, 2025, following its $10 billion acquisition by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, ending nearly a century of public trading.

The deal also triggered leadership changes, with retail veteran Mike Motz appointed as the company’s CEO effective immediately. Motz previously led Staples U.S. Retail, a Sycamore portfolio company, and served as president of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada.

“As a private organization, alongside our dedicated team members, we are renewing our focus on our core pharmacy and retail platform, our stores and our customer experience — building on the progress that’s been made,” Motz said in a statement Thursday.

Walgreens’ healthcare subsidiaries, including Shields Health Solutions, CareCentrix, and VillageMD, will operate as separate businesses moving forward. The Boots Group, Walgreens’ international retail pharmacy chain, will also be spun out, creating five standalone companies. CareCentrix will maintain its current leadership, with Steve Horowitz continuing as CEO. VillageMD has yet to provide details on leadership changes post-acquisition.

Current CEO Tim Wentworth will step down but remain with Walgreens as an ongoing director. John Lederer, a former director and senior advisor to Sycamore, has been named executive chairman. The sale received overwhelming shareholder approval in July, following months of speculation about Walgreens’ potential divestiture amid ongoing financial pressures.

Walgreens has faced significant challenges over the past year, including declining pharmacy margins, decreased retail sales, and heavy debt. Credit rating agencies had downgraded the company, and its expansion into healthcare delivery through VillageMD clinics failed to yield the expected returns. Some underperforming clinics were subsequently closed, and the company continued reporting losses. In the third quarter, Walgreens posted a net loss of $175 million, an improvement from the $519 million loss in the same period the previous year.

The acquisition has drawn scrutiny from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which noted in March that Sycamore’s portfolio includes several companies that previously filed for bankruptcy. “This leveraged buyout tactic saddles private equity-owned companies with substantial debt, often draining resources that could otherwise be invested in innovation, workforce development, or adapting to market changes,” the watchdog group said.

As Walgreens transitions into private ownership and separates its healthcare businesses, industry observers are monitoring the impact on both pharmacy operations and healthcare delivery ventures.

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