RAD Rite Aid Corp

By Austen Hufford 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. received regulatory approval for its deal to buy thousands of stores from Rite Aid Corp., but only after the number of stores to be purchased was again trimmed to allay antitrust concerns.

Walgreens will now buy 1,932 Rite Aid stores for $4.38 billion, a far cry from the original $9.4 billion deal for about 4,600 stores, struck in 2015. In June, the two companies scrapped plans to merge, agreeing instead that Walgreens would seek to buy about 2,200 Rite Aid stores.

Shares of Rite Aid fell 4.6% to $2.61 in morning trading. Walgreens shares fell 0.5% to $82.17.

Rite Aid said Tuesday that the latest deal, for about 250 fewer stores than had been agreed in June, followed discussions between the two companies and the Federal Trade Commission.

Walgreens will gain stores located primarily in the northeast and southern U.S.

Rite Aid will continue as a stand-alone company, operating about 2,600 stores, six distribution centers and its pharmacy-benefit manager, EnvisionRx.

The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and doesn't require a shareholder vote. Store transfers will start in October, with the goal of completing the transition in the spring of next year.

Walgreens also paid a $325 million termination fee to Rite Aid.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 19, 2017 10:26 ET (14:26 GMT)

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