Boots is up for sale and a number of companies, including one owned by two billionaire businessmen from Blackburn, are in the running to take over the health and beauty chain.

Owners of Boots, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) put the company up for sale last month, and since then many firms have had their interests piqued.

According to Retail Gazette, the health and beauty conglomerate is understood to have placed a £7billion price tag for the chain, which includes its operations in the UK, Ireland and Thailand, as well as the No7 beauty brand.

A number of companies are in the running to bid for Boots, including Asda, which is owned by Blackburn's Issa brothers.

It has been rumoured that the Blackburn entrepreneurs are considering a multi-billion pound takeover of Boots to add to its growing retail portfolio.

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The Issa brothers made their money by growing a petrol forecourt retail empire, and after buying Asda in 2020 for £6.8bn, they have made plays for other businesses including Caffè Nero.

And it is believed the brothers are now in early discussions to add Boots to their portfolio, enabling Asda to add beauty concessions to its vast supermarket network.

The deadline for interested parties to lodge first round bids in the £7billion auction for Boots have until the end of this month to signal their interest.

Other firms who are rumoured to be interested include Bain Capital and CVC, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Fortress Investment Group, and Apollo Global Management.

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The 172-year-old pharmacy chain has 2,200 stores and 550 opticians in the UK, employing around 51,000 people.

US owner Walgreens acquired it in the early 2010s and has invested £2.8billion in the company, including £300million in recent online and store refurbishments.