Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Walgreens & Sycamore is Like Trump & Zelensky 3-3-25
Mon, 03 Mar 2025
In this episode, Scott Becker discusses the stalled negotiations between Walgreens and Sycamore, comparing their inability to finalize a deal to the diplomatic struggles between Trump and Zelensky.
Chapter 1: What is the comparison between Walgreens and Sycamore?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Today's discussion is Walgreens Sycamore is like Trump Zielinski. And here's the point on this. Walgreens and Sycamore Private Equity Fund have been courting each other for the last several months, but can't seem to get on the same page, can't seem to get a deal.
Chapter 2: How is Walgreens stock performing amid negotiations?
Walgreens stock, notwithstanding the great leadership of Tim Wentworth, has been down over the last year, recovered some this year, up 14% so far this year, but dropped on Friday due to news that this deal is not coming together, at least right now, between Sycamore and Walgreens. Sycamore, I think, would be scary for Walgreens.
Chapter 3: What challenges are Walgreens facing with Sycamore?
Chapter 4: How do Trump and Zelenskyy relate to the Walgreens-Sycamore situation?
They'd probably put a lot of debt on it, try and refashion the business, but also an upside for those that are at Walgreens. So fascinating, fascinating situation. The Sycamore-Walgreens negotiations and situation. The similar thing with President Trump and Vladimir Zelenskyy. These two guys, like Sycamore and Walgreens, can't seem to get on the same page. They seem to get close.
I have no criticism of President Trump negotiating in public. I think that kind of transparency is extremely healthy, quite frankly, so I'm not a negative on that at all. I think at the end of the day, we've got to view the situation in Ukraine and Russia as an end situation. We can back Ukraine and we have to find peace.
Obviously, we don't need to go broke, just like Reagan made Russia go broke, the Soviet Union go broke, by constantly putting military pressure on. We don't need to go broke by having Putin put so much pressure on Ukraine and us giving $100 billion to Ukraine. We just don't need that as a nation. We've got to find some way to bring it to peace and support Ukraine.
Anyways, that's the discussion today. Walgreens, Sycamore. Trump Zelensky, what a fascinating thing to watch. Thank you very much for listening to the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast.