** Shares of pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA.O rise 5.7% $11.20 premarket

** WBA will be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion, the firms said late on Thursday

** Sycamore will pay $11.45 per share, a premium of 8% to Walgreens' closing price of $10.60 on Thursday

** "Going private makes sense on paper," said Ann Hynes, an analyst with Mizuho Bank, adding that Walgreens' operational challenges would likely better be handled without commitments to shareholders

** Stock has plunged 49.3% in the last 12 months up to its last close

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh)

((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com))