Walgreen Completes $438M Purchase of 144-Store Chain

Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) announced on Monday that it has completed the $438 million purchase of drug stores from privately-owned Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc.

The acquisition was announced back in July. 144 drug stores operating under the names USA Drug, Med-X, May’s Drug, Drug Warehouse and Super D Drug are affected by the deal, as well as a wholesales drug business, NewsOK noted.

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The stores involved are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee and generated $825 million in sales in 2011.

Shares of Walgreen slipped fractionally in Tuesday morning trading.

Walgreen also obtained corporate office space and a distribution center in Arkansas.

The deal extends Walgreen’s reach into smaller communities across the mid-south.

In June, Walgreen purchased a 45% stake in Switzerland’s Alliance Boots drug chain for $6.7 billion, its first overseas acquisition.