Walgreens Has Made Takeover Approach to AmerisourceBergen -- Sources
February 12 2018 - 7:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Michael Siconolfi, Dana Mattioli and Joseph Walker
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has made a takeover approach to
drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp., a move that could help
boost profitability at the drugstore giant and insulate it against
external threats in an increasingly competitive health-care
landscape.
There was a high-level outreach several weeks ago by
representatives of Walgreens Chief Executive Stefano Pessina to
representatives of Amerisource CEO Steven Collis, according to
people familiar with the matter. They discussed the possibility of
Walgreens buying the portion of Amerisource it doesn't already own,
though there isn't an offer on the table, the people said.
The companies are in early-stage talks to combine, the people
said, cautioning that no deal is imminent and there may well not be
one.
Michael Polzin, a Walgreens spokesman, said the company had no
comment, as did an Amerisource spokeswoman.
Should there be a transaction, it would be substantial:
AmerisourceBergen had a market value of $19.6 billion as of
Monday's market close. Walgreens had a market value of $67.8
billion.
Easing the burden of a takeover on Walgreens, the Deerfield,
Ill., company already owns about 26% of Amerisource. It also has a
representative on Amerisource's board.
Write to Michael Siconolfi at michael.siconolfi@wsj.com, Dana
Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com and Joseph Walker at
joseph.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 12, 2018 19:24 ET (00:24 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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