India's Mukesh Ambani eyes bid for UK retailer Boots

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, owned by Mukesh Ambani and US buyout firm Apollo Global Management are planning a joint bid for UK high street pharmacy chain Boots, a spokesperson for Apollo confirmed.

Both Reliance and Apollo would own stakes in Boots under the plan, although it is not clear whether the stakes would be of the same size, according to the reports.

Reliance was not immediately available for comment, while Boots declined to comment.

Walgreens Boots Alliance put its Boots business up for sale after announcing a strategic review in January as the second-largest U.S. pharmacy chain renews its focus on domestic healthcare.

The owners of UK supermarket group Asda - brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity group TDR Capital - have also made an initial bid for Boots, which is valued at between 5 billion pounds and 6 billion pounds ($6.27 billion and $7.52 billion), the report said.

(Reuters)