Walgreens Could Shed 500 Stores to Ease Antitrust Issues in Rite Aid Deal

A week after announcing its $9.4 billion acquisition of Rite Aid, Walgreens Boots Alliance said its contract with the smaller pharmacy chain “provides for divestments” of up to 1,000 stores if “required by regulators.” The nation’s largest drugstore chain, Walgreens, expects the number of divestments will likely be “less than half this number,” but the admission, disclosed in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing, addresses questions Walgreens Boots Alliance couldn’t answer last week in a conference call with analysts.