Ares Management (ARES) and HPS Investment Partners are said to be among a group of private lenders hoping to provide $4.5 billion of debt to fund a portion of Sycamore Partners' proposed buyout of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Bloomberg reported late Tuesday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

Bloomberg previously has said Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), UBS Group (UBS) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are also working on financing proposals for the deal, which could value the pharmacy retail chain as high as $20 billion, including debt.

Sycamore likely will split Walgreens into its individual business segments and fund each deal separately, the source told Bloomberg, who cautioned that talks between the retailer and the private equity firm may not result in an agreement.

Sycamore did not immediately respond to a request by MT Newswires seeking its comment about the Bloomberg report.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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