Walgreens gives update on Rite Aid deal; ups store divesture estimate

Based on ongoing discussions with the Federal Trade Commission, Walgreens Boots Alliance gave an update on the amount of stores it will need to divest to win approval for its acquisition of Rite Aid.



Walgreens Boots Alliance said it now expects that the most likely outcome will be that the companies will be required to divest more than 500 stores, but fewer than 1,000 stores. The company previously said that it expected it would have to divest 500 or fewer stores.



In addition, the pharmacy giant said it continues to believe that the acquisition will close in the second half of calendar 2016.



Taking into account its current expectation of store divestitures, Walgreens continues to expects that the acquisition will be accretive to its adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing of the transaction.



The company also continues to believe that it will realize synergies from the acquisition in excess of $1 billion, to be fully realized within three to four years of closing.