Walgreens Boots Alliance tops largest private equity-backed companies by revenue

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., backed by Sycamore Partners Management LP, ranked as the private equity-owned company with the highest revenue globally.

The ranking was based on an analysis of the most recent available data by S&P Global Market Intelligence and covers private companies that are majority-owned by private equity.

The US-based drug retailer posted about $147.66 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024, standing out as the only company in the analysis with revenue above $100 billion, the data shows.

Sycamore took Walgreens Boots private in a $41.8 billion deal while the company grappled with financial difficulties, including "continued challenging consumer discretionary spending" that weighed on its US retail sales, according to a Jan. 10 earnings call.

The Walgreens Boots acquisition was one of the biggest private equity-backed megadeals in 2025. Take‑privates made up half of the 10 largest private‑equity transactions that year. Another 2025 megadeal was 3G Capital Inc.'s roughly $11.1 billion privatization of Skechers U.S.A. Inc., which added a high‑revenue company to the list.

Retail was the most represented sector in the analysis, accounting for eight of the top 25 private equity-backed companies by latest revenue. Retail companies on the list include Asda Stores Ltd., Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd. and Constellation Automotive Holdings Ltd.

In the aggregate, the latest available revenue for the top 25 private equity-backed companies reached approximately $445.29 billion.

TDR Capital LLP and Sycamore emerged as the leading private‑equity backers, with TDR Capital owning four companies and Sycamore holding three.

By head count, Asda is the largest company on the list, employing 17,198, according to Market Intelligence data.

– Download a spreadsheet with data featured in this story. – Read about private equity activity in the global insurance technology space. – Explore more private markets headlines.

Nagaraju Nuthalapati contributed to this article.