Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance, a global pharmacy-led, health and well-being enterprise, has agreed to buy Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid Corp. for about $9.4 billion, a deal that would unite two of the country's three biggest drugstore owners, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Here are six things to know about the deal.
1. Walgreens agreed to pay $9 a share in cash for Rite Aid. That's a 48 percent premium to Rite Aid's closing price Monday, according to the report.
2. The transaction is valued at $17.2 billion, including assumed debt from Rite Aid.
3. The deal would combine the Walgreens and Rite Aid drugstore networks, which together include roughly 13,000 U.S. stores. Rite Aid has about 4,600 drugstores in 31 states, while Walgreens has roughly 8,200 U.S. stores, according to the report.
4. Walgreens and Rite Aid, which have both been pinched by drug-price inflation, could see considerable savings by combining their networks, according to the report.
5. According to The Wall Street Journal, antitrust regulators would likely scrutinize the deal, and could demand divestitures in exchange for their approval.
6. The deal adds to this year's list of healthcare mergers and acquisitions. Across the U.S., Drug makers, hospital chains, health insurers and others have already struck some $427 billion of merger deals this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cites information from international financial software company Dealogic.
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