Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance have lost about half their value in the past year, as the chain has faced pressure in its retail and pharmacy businesses.

Walgreens Boots Alliance says it has agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm Sycamore Partners as the struggling retailer looks to turn itself around after years of losing money.

Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, will buy Walgreens Boots Alliance at $11.45 per share as Walgreens will go private for the first time in decades.

Negotiations are in advanced stages, with both sides aiming to seal the agreement as soon as Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical that private equity will help Walgreens get out of turbulent times.

Putting its many affairs in order will probably be easier as a private company, but there are still pitfalls — including a crushing load of debt.

Walgreens said shareholders will get of $11.45 per share in cash, an equity value just under $10 billion, the Associated Press reported. "While we are making progress against our

The company will continue to operate under the name Walgreens and its headquarters will remain in the Chicago area.

After several months of rumors that Walgreens Boots Alliance would take itself private, the Deerfield-based pharmacy giant confirmed today that it will sell itself for an equity value of around $10 billion to New York-based private-equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Walgreens Boots Alliance will be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion, the buyout firm said on Thursday, closing out nearly a century of trading on public markets for the U.S. pharmacy giant.

The Walgreens Boots Alliance Friday said the drug store chain is going private, acquired by private equity company Sycamore Partners in a $23.7 billion deal described as a "definitive agreement."