Walgreen to acquire drugstore.com

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens announced that it would "accelerate its online strategy" by acquiring e-retailer Drugstore.com. The deal, worth about $429 million, gives Walgreens access to 3 million online customers.



“Our acquisition of Drugstore.com significantly accelerates our online strategy to leverage the best community store network in America by becoming the most convenient choice for health and daily living needs, whether customers shop online or in our stores,” said Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson. “This acquisition offers a unique opportunity that will provide us immediate access to more than three million savvy, online loyal customers, and will allow us to move even closer to our existing customers through relationships with new vendors and partners, adding approximately 60,000 products to our already strong online offering."



Under the agreement, Drugstore.com stockholders will receive $3.80 in cash for each share of stock, representing a total of about $429 million.



The all-cash transaction is expected to close by the end of June and, according to the company, will add about 60,000 products to Walgreen's online offerings and speed up its online strategy.