Apollo Global said in talks with banks for £6B bid for Walgreens' Boots chain
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Apollo Global (APO) is said in talks with banks to help finance a Â£6B offer for Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) U.K. Boots chain.
Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Canada are among banks that are in discussions to help fund the bid, according to a Sky News report. A new round of bids for Boots is expected next month with Apollo and supermarket chain Asda, owned by TDR Capital, as the only two "serious" possible buyers for the pharmacy and beauty chain. 
Sky News reported last month that a consortium of private equity firms Bain and CVC Capital dropped out of bidding for the Boots. Indicative offers valued at more than Â£6bn ($8B) were understood to have been submitted at the time of the report. 
Walgreen shares pared some gains today on the latest Sky News report as some previous reports have indicated a price as high as Â£7B.
Bloomberg reported in late January that Walgreens was said to have started the sales process for its Boots chain in the U.K. after confirming it was considering selling the unit in January.