Walgreens scraps Rite Aid takeover, to buy half its stores
Walgreens also said on Thursday it ended a related deal to sell as many as 1,200 Rite Aid stores to Fred’s Inc , sending Fred’s shares down 20 percent in premarket trading. Rite Aid’s shares plunged 22 percent to $3.07, while Walgreens shares were up 5 percent at $81.02. Reuters reported last month that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff had asked the two companies and groups concerned about the deal for information that could be used in a lawsuit aimed at blocking it.