WESTON FAMILY BUYS BOOTS FOR $8.9 BILLION

Wittington Investments, the Weston family's holding company, agreed to buy the Boots Group from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family for $8.9 billion including assumed debt. The deal covers Boots' UK and Ireland retail stores, its Opticians chain, the No7 Beauty Company and operations in Thailand — more than 50,000 employees in total. Sellers keep Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland. Fairfax Financial Holdings ($FFH) is backing the purchase as a financial partner, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027.