The pharmacy-led retail and wholesale businesses of both companies will continue to operate under their established brand names, and there are no plans to cut jobs at either company because of the deal. Alliance Boots was formed by the 2006 merger of Boots, a fixture on British high streets, and Pan-European wholesale and retail pharmacist Alliance UniChem, now owned by Executive Chairman Stefano Pessina and New York-based private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. While that tie-up allowed Alliance Boots to expand into many emerging markets — from China and Thailand to Turkey and Nigeria — Mr. Pessina said on the Tuesday morning call, "Without the big weight of the U.S., we could not aspire to be the global company we wanted to be."