Though Fred’s name came up in the buzz surrounding the Walgreens-Rite Aid merger talks with the FTC, the Southeastern retailer’s move to buy 865 Rite Aid stores for $950 million in cash from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) still was surprising. After all, not even two weeks ago, Fred’s reported poor third-quarter results (including a net
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. said slim reimbursement rates, new generic drugs and the ongoing antitrust talks for the merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) squeezed sales and earnings for its fiscal 2017 third quarter. Rite Aid said Thursday that for the third quarter ended Nov. 26, sales dipped 0.8% to $8.09 billion
NEW YORK — CVS Health’s integrated pharmacy care model makes it a “partner of choice” in the health care arena, president and chief executive officer Larry Merlo said at the company’s annual Analyst Day event in Manhattan. Merlo and senior CVS Health executives gathered in New York on Thursday to give the investment community an
To quote one of Cortes’ officers when the Spanish first arrived in Mexico, they came “to serve God and His Majesty and also to get riches.” While the Boots/Walgreens story was playing out in the U.S., ultimately ending in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Boots was also busy south of the border acquiring Farmacias Ahumada in Chile
DEERFIELD, Ill. — In a country where health care is rife with wasted time and money, Walgreens is committed to making pharmacy more efficient. One measure of the practice’s current inefficiency, says Alex Gourlay, co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., is the large number of prescriptions that need additional authorization on the way
Chain drug industry watchers have kept hearing and reading the scuttlebutt about the closing of the Walgreens-Rite Aid merger deal. But a report late Friday afternoon suggested that approval of the $17.2 billion transaction may be imminent. Investor website Seeking Alpha reported that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is slated to have a package of store
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In reporting a net loss for its fiscal 2016 third quarter, Fred’s Inc. said it plans to shut 40 underperforming stores in the first half of next year. Fred’s also announced at the start of its earnings call Thursday that it wouldn’t take any questions from analysts following its quarterly report —
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health said it will eliminate about 600 corporate jobs over the next couple of months. The job cuts will be made primarily at CVS corporate offices in Rhode Island, Illinois and Arizona, the company said. In a statement, CVS Health indicated that the job reductions reflect fluctuations in the health care
CVS Health’s scaled-back 2017 guidance, given in its third-quarter report this week, spotlights an intensifying competitive battle with rival Walgreens Boots Alliance. CVS reported that for fiscal 2017 it expects to lose over 40 million retail prescriptions due to marketplace changes, notably narrower retail pharmacy networks excluding CVS Pharmacy drug stores. The announcement sent CVS
Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid recently extended the agreement end date for their merger transaction until late January, with the expectation that the deal will get the Federal Trade Commission’s OK in early 2017. As WBA’s store divestiture talks with the FTC roll on, Deutsche Bank Securities analyst George Hill shed some light on
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) and Rite Aid Corp. have extended the time frame for completing their planned $17.2 billion merger. The companies have pushed back the end date for the deal by three months to January 27, and they expect the transaction to close early next year. Both companies had the
The United Nations Foundation last month recognized five individuals and organizations whose support has helped the UN address a range of serious issues around the globe. Honorees included President Obama for his efforts to end armed conflict and fight climate change; Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme; Maina Kiai, UN special rapporteur
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Affiliates of private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) plan to sell their remaining interest in Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) through a secondary stock offering. WBA said Wednesday that the KKR affiliates aim to sell 20.46 million shares of WBA common stock in an underwritten secondary offering. And in a
Ornella Barra, co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, accepted a United Nations Foundation 2016 Global Leadership Award on behalf of the company at a ceremony in Manhattan. WBA was recognized for its “Get a Shot. Give a Shot.” vaccination campaign, which donates a polio or measles vaccine to a child in need for every
