Walgreens climbs on Sycamore's take-private deal for $10 billion

Shares of pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA.O rise 7% to $11.35 in afternoon trading

WBA will be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion, the firms said late on Thursday

Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share to WBA, a premium of 8% to the company's closing price of $10.60 on Thursday

*Stock has declined 88% since hitting a peak of $95.91 in 2015

The transaction has a total value of around $23.7 billion, including payouts and debt - Leerink Partners investment bank

*"Given the size of the deal and number of moving parts involved (a potential split of the US business, Boots, and Health), we don't expect a competing bid to come over the top" - Leerink analysts

Stock down 49.3% in the last 12 months, up to its last close