Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina told shareholders during the company's annual meeting Thursday Walgreens is intent on using "all the instruments and actions it can put in place" to facilitate the merger with Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid, according to Forbes.
Mr. Pessina did not address whether the companies plan to extend the deadline for the merger, which terminates Friday.
Here are seven things to know about the merger as it stands.
1. Officials initially announced the Walgreens-Rite Aid merger in October 2015. If successful, the combined entity would include more drugstores than any other chain in the U.S.
2. In its review of the agreement, the Federal Trade Commission expressed significant concerns about the deal, stating the proposed merger would threaten competition in the market.
3. To address the FTC's concerns, Walgreens proposed divesting 865 Rite Aid drugstores to Memphis, Tenn.-based Fred's in an all-cash $950 million transaction.
4. During the meeting Thursday, Mr. Pessina said the FTC's review of the merger is ongoing. "We are actively engaged in dialogue with the FTC and we will do everything we can to support their work," Mr. Pessina said.
5. Officials said selling select drugstores to Fred's represents a good alternative to help quell the FTC's concerns because the management team at Fred's is intimately familiar with Walgreens' business strategy — Fred's CFO Rick Hans helped develop more than 250 Walgreens stores during his 25-year tenure with Walgreens.
6. The FTC has expressed additional concerns regarding Walgreens' deal with Fred's, questioning whether Fred's could "pull off such a large transaction," according to Forbes.
7. If the deal with Fred's is successful, Fred's will become the third largest drugstore chain in the nation, sources told Forbes.