Walgreens Is ‘Confident’ Rite Aid Deal Will Close Early 2017
- Talks with regulators are taking longer than anticipated
- Fiscal fourth-quarter EPS that beat analysts’ estimates
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Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. expects its planned $9.4 billion purchase of Rite Aid Corp. to close early next year, even as talks with regulators over which drugstores should be divested have taken longer than anticipated.
The shares rose as much as 4.5 percent, the biggest intraday gain in four months, after Walgreens Chief Executive Officer Stefano Pessina told analysts on a conference call that the transaction is moving through regulatory review.