Boots the biggest pharmacy in UK with about 1500 stores. Their PDM's are bad asses too, always on your back and ready to write you up for anything. Both companies are welcome to each other with their bully boy modus operandum.
U.S. drugstore chain Walgreen Co (WAG.N) is taking a 45 percent stake in European health and beauty group Alliance Boots Holdings Ltd ABN.UL for $6.7 billion in cash and stock, making a surprisingly big bet on Europe in the midst of the euro crisis.
The move will create the world's biggest buyer of prescription drugs and give both companies reach into new markets. But Walgreen shares were down 6 percent as some investors were concerned by the decision to expand in Europe.
The deal, the result of talks that began 18 months ago, marks Walgreen's first move beyond its home market and will give it more clout with drugmakers at a time it is losing sales because it no longer fills prescriptions for members of a major pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts Holding Co
"at a time it is losing sales because it no longer fills prescriptions for members of a major pharmacy benefits manager..."
I don't get it- it's not like this will give WAG more sales in the States. This article says that it will save the merged companies $1bn/year by 2016...but that Boots has something like £5bn in debt, so that doesn't really make sense either. BUT if they do start negotiating with drug manufacturers, then it could drive prices down for everyone, right? Because WAG couldn't charge $X for a box of brand name drug Y if everyone else was charging $10X.
I do have a good number of points on my Boots advantage card...so if they do merge soon, I hope I can use them in both places to get my free candy etc
Its about stronger negotiating power with buying drugs, not selling. This is about cutting costs, not increasing revenue.
Ehh...so Wags can't cut it in the US so they're going to spread their wings into a 2nd rate country.... good luck to Wags..