Walgreens Strikes Deal for Rite Aid Stores

Walgreens Boots Alliance (Deerfield, Ill.) says it has abandoned its efforts to buy Rite Aid Corp (Camp Hill, Pa.), which failed to win antitrust approval. Instead, the company will buy nearly half of Rite Aid’s U.S. stores for $5.18 billion.

Walgreens expects the revised deal will save the company $400 million; the previous deal was expected to net it $1 billion in savings.

The new deal is still subject to court approval, but it is expected that this deal to purchase 2186 of its rival’s stores will more easily win antitrust approval. The deal is expected to close within six months.

Walgreens is already the country’s biggest drugstore chain, reports Reuters.