Walgreens to buy 2,186 Rite Aid stores in US$5.18 billion deal

[NEW YORK] Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc said it has reached a new US$5.18 billion agreement to purchase 2,186 Rite Aid Corp. stores, and that it has terminated its deal to purchase the rival drug store chain.

The agreement replaces the merger agreement with Rite Aid that has been under Federal Trade Commission review, Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens said in a statement Thursday.

Rite Aid shares fluctuated in pre-trading after the new transaction was announced. The stock initially spiked as much as 23 per cent to US$4.85, before declining 4.6 per cent to US$3.76 as of 7:17 am in New York. Walgreens jumped 3.8 per cent to US$80.