British Boots Group and Alliance Unichem announced on Monday the £7 billion merger of their two companies to form a pan-European pharmaceutical, health and beauty retail giant. Richard Baker, chief executive of Boots, is expected to hold the same title in the merged group. Sir Nigel Rudd, Boots chairman, will be chairman of the merged entity, while George Fairweather, finance director of Alliance, will keep his position in the newly created group. Stefano Pessina, executive deputy chairman of Alliance, will be deputy chairman of Alliance Boots, holding a 16 percent stake valued at about £1.5 billion in the new group.

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The new company will have its headquarters in London, with some operations remaining in Boots’ 156-year-old headquarters in Nottingham. Boots’ remaining businesses, which include 1,400 health and beauty stores, will join Alliance UniChem in a premium merger. Alliance Unichem has 939 chemists throughout the UK and a wholesale pharmaceutical business across 12 European countries.