Walgreens will keep headquarters in U.S.

Deerfield, Ill. – Walgreens Boots Alliance plans to keep its headquarters in the U.S. and never went beyond the consideration stage of moving operations outside the U.S. in an “inversion” to reduce corporate taxes. At the Walgreens annual shareholder meeting May 28, Walgreens chairman James Skinner said Walgreens headquarters will remain in Deerfield, Illinois.



"The board never voted on this (inversion)," Skinner said in response to an audience question. "We just decided it wasn't something we wanted to do."



Walgreens purchased Alliance Boots, which is based in Switzerland, in December 2014. The retailer acknowledged it had been considering an inversion during the 2014 purchase process, which led to public criticism from some Congressional Democrats and President Obama. Skinner said Obama’s criticism was politically motivated and that it did not influence Walgreens’ decision to remain based in the U.S.