Walgreens Boots Alliance said it will buy Fred's patient prescription files and related pharmacy inventory for $165 million. An attempt by Walgreens to buy Rite Aid and satisfy the Federal Trade Commission by selling 865 Rite Aid stores to Fred’s was unable to pass regulatory muster. “This agreement increases patient access to Walgreens pharmacies in the Southeastern U.S., and allows us to introduce more people to Walgreens trusted pharmacy services in these communities," Walgreens President of Operations Richard Ashworth said. "Fred’s will continue to operate its retail stores at most of these locations after the pharmacies close," Fred's said in a statement Monday. "Once the (Walgreens) transaction is complete, Fred’s will continue to operate approximately 162 pharmacies across nearly 600 stores."

Source: Forbes September 10, 2018 12:48 UTC