Walgreens Gets OK to Buy Familymeds

Deerfield, Ill., The Walgreen Co. got the green light from federal antitrust regulators Monday to purchase 53 pharmacies from Familymeds Group Inc. The transaction is valued at $60 million.

According to a Federal Trade Commission notice, the government has completed its investigation of the sale and ended the required waiting period.

The acquisition was announced last February.

Familymeds operates the 53 stores under the brands Familymeds Pharmacy, Ethical Pharmacy, Worksite Pharmacy and Arrow Pharmacy & Nutrition Center. Walgreens has said it will close an unspecified number of the locations and transfer their prescription files to nearby Walgreens pharmacies. However, the company did say it would continue to operate a majority of the stores.