Walgreens to Obtain Patient Files from 185 Fred’s Pharmacies

Walgreens and Fred’s have announced that they will enter into a definitive purchase agreement. As a result, Walgreens will acquire pharmacy patient prescription files and related pharmacy inventory of 185 Fred’s stores located across 10 Southeastern states.

“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,” Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations, said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming Fred’s patients and team members who are hired into available Walgreens positions.”

According to the agreement, the aggregate consideration to be paid by Walgreens to Fred’s is $165M, which is subject to adjustment. Further, Walgreens will pay an amount equal to the value of related pharmacy inventory.

This transaction is part of Fred’s plans to unlock shareholder value by monetizing non-core assets through strategic transactions. Fred’s will continue to operate its retail stores at most of the 185 locations after the pharmacies close. Notably, Fred’s will continue to operate roughly 162 pharmacies across nearly 600 stores.

“With this agreement, we have taken a major step towards achieving one of our main goals of eliminating our debt balance,” Joe Anto, interim CEO and CFO of Fred’s, expressed in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with Walgreens to transition our pharmacy patients in these locations as smoothly as possible.”

Walgreens and Fred’s will work together to help ensure a smooth transition for patients. Patients whose prescriptions are being transferred will be notified by letter. Further, once the patient files are transferred, patients will have access to Walgreens trusted pharmacy services across a network of approximately 9,800 pharmacies nationwide.

—Julie Gould

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