Boots bid renews private equity controversy

Firms look to move away from asset stripping image of 1980s to helping ailing firms meet full potential and boosting UK economy

The fierce bidding war for high street pharmacy chain Alliance Boots that ended last week raises questions about the escalating scale of private equity buyouts. The Boots board accepted the £11.39 per share offered by KKR, sealing the biggest private equity deal ever seen in Europe. Could this buyout signal the beginning of a climate of takeovers in which even the largest FTSE 100 companies are not safe from the predations of private equity, and, if so, does this give cause for concern? Critics of private equity have long had a media platform from which to voice their concerns about an i...