Walgreens Boots Alliance is considering selling the company to a private equity firm — a move that would take the publicly traded company private, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens has been in discussions with Sycamore Partners over a deal that could be completed early next year, the Journal wrote, citing unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

A Walgreens spokesperson declined to comment on the report Tuesday, telling the Tribune, “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation about our business.” A spokesperson for Sycamore also declined to comment.

Walgreens’ stock shot up 21% on the news early Tuesday afternoon.

New York-based Sycamore specializes in retail and consumer investment, and would likely sell off pieces of the business or work with partners, the Journal reported.

The report follows years of struggles for the massive retail pharmacy chain, some of which are related to industrywide challenges over reimbursements for medications, while others stem from past moves made by Walgreens.

The company announced plans in October to close 1,200 stores — about 14% of its U.S. locations — over the next three years, saying that only about three-quarters of its U.S. stores are profitable.

Walgreens has also conducted several rounds of layoffs, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs over the last few years, including many in Illinois. The company has had a cost-cutting program in place for years, and exceeded its goal of cutting $1 billion in costs last fiscal year, following years of similar measures.

Many of the cuts came as Walgreens worked in recent years to become more of a health care destination, partnering with various health care providers.

Walgreens invested billions in primary care provider VillageMD and had planned to put Village Medical clinics in 1,000 of its stores by 2027. But Walgreens has since backtracked on that plan. In March, CEO Tim Wentworth said Walgreens had recorded a $5.8 billion impairment charge related to VillageMD, and that VillageMD would close 160 clinics. In August, Walgreens said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was considering selling all or part of its VillageMD business.

In recent months, Wentworth has indicated that Walgreens is now working on a different strategy of focusing more on its historic work as a retail pharmacy-led organization.

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