SPLS Staples, Inc.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. said Friday the Federal Trade Commission has requested more information about their proposed merger.

Walgreens and Rite Aid said they had expected the so-called "second request." The companies still expect the deal to close in the second half of 2016.

Walgreens in October agreed to pay about $9.4 billion to buy Rite Aid, a move to create a drugstore giant at a time when companies in nearly every corner of the health-care industry are seeking to gain advantage from bulking up. The deal was expected to be closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators, as the companies are two of the three-biggest drugstore owners in the country.

In addition to regulatory approval, Walgreens' deal also must be approved by Rite Aid's shareholders.

Antitrust regulators have moved to scuttle a number of deals this year, including two earlier this week: Staples Inc.'s roughly $6 billion takeover of Office Depot Inc. and General Electric Co.'s $3.3 billion agreement to sell its appliances business to Electrolux AB of Sweden.

Objections by the Justice Department earlier this year helped derail Comcast Corp.'s $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable Inc. The FTC won a court fight in June that blocked the $3.5 billion combination of food-distribution rivals Sysco Corp. and US Foods Inc. Last week, two leading tuna producers—the owners of Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea brands— called off a $1.5 billion merger in light of U.S. concerns.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2015 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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