(Save the date: RealShare Chicago comes to the Union League Club of Chicago October 23.)
DEERFIELD, IL-Walgreen Co. just can’t stop downing drugstore chains, as it has announced it is taking over 144 stores owned by Pine Bluff, AR-based Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc. for $438 million. Locally based Walgreen is still assimilating its $1.1 billion purchase of Duane Reed from 2010, and last month took almost half of Zug, Switzerland-based Alliance Boots.
Stephen LaFrance opened his first drugstore in Pine Bluff in 1968, and has since expanded the chain to the brands USA Drug, Super D Drug, May’s Drug, Med-X and Drug Warehouse in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. He said in a statement that he sold to Walgreen because it is the premier drugstore company.
It’s also becoming one of the world’s largest – Walgreen operates 7,890 drugstores in the United States and Puerto Rico. Its recent $6.7 billion investment to acquire a 45% equity stake in Alliance Boots – with the option to take the entire company in 2015 – will give the firm more than 11,000 stores in 12 countries.
However, Walgreen has been hurting recently, following its break from pharmacy giant Express Scripts a few months ago. Walgreen Inc. reported a drop in same-store sales for June.
The recent purchase also includes LaFrance’s corporate offices and a distribution center here, and a wholesale and private brand business. The acquired stores, which recorded sales of $825 million in 2011, will continue to operate under the current names for some time.
The LaFrance holdings give Walgreen more of a market share in the seven states, where Walgreen already owns more than 900 stores, said company president and CEO Greg Wasson. The sale will also enable the firm “to bring the Walgreens experience to many additional smaller communities where USA Drug has developed strong operational expertise,” he said.
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