Walgreens plans to reduce its stake in primary care clinic chain VillageMD.
In a June 27 earnings call, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth said the company will no longer be VillageMD's majority owner. The decision comes after the company said it would close 60 VillageMD sites in 2023 in a bid to cut at least $1 billion in costs.
Walgreens Boots Alliance became the majority owner of VillageMD in 2021 through a $5.2 billion investment. Under its ownership, VillageMD significantly expanded, notably with the $8.9 billion acquisition of Summit Health-CityMD in 2023, which added more than 2,800 providers to its network. To support this acquisition, Walgreens contributed $3.5 billion through an equal mix of debt and equity.
Also on June 27, Walgreens said it plans to shutter "a significant portion" of its underperforming retail stores over the next three years.