Unichem

Unichem

Alliance Boots GmbH is a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group. It has two core business activities - pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing, and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution - and has a presence in over 25 countries including associates and joint ventures. It has revenue in excess of £22.4 billion It was formed in 2006 through a merger of the listed British high street pharmacist Boots Group and the pan-European wholesale and retail pharmacy group Alliance UniChem. Alliance Boots was initially a British plc listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 2007 it was bought out in a private equity transaction. The trading business was transferred to a Swiss GmbH in 2008, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of a British company, AB Acquisitions Holdings. AB Acquisitions Holdings is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and the Italian businessman Stefano Pessina, who built Alliance UniChem and is now the executive chairman of Alliance Boots.

The group's operations are mainly carried out under the Boots and Alliance Healthcare brands. Boots UK is the UK's leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer. Alliance Boots is also the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the UK through its Alliance Healthcare (Distribution) Ltd business.

Alliance Boots employs over 108,000 staff and operates more than 3,100 retail stores, of which just over 3,000 have pharmacies. Alliance Boots pharmaceutical wholesale division serves over 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and health centres from over 370 distribution centres in 20 countries.