Walgreens and Alliance Boots Receive Regulatory Clearance to Make Equity Investment in AmerisourceBe

Walgreens and Alliance Boots Receive Regulatory Clearance to Make Equity Investment in AmerisourceBergen

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Walgreen Co. (NYS: WAG) (NAS: WAG) , the largest retail drugstore chain in the United States, and Alliance Boots GmbH, a leading international pharmacy-led health and beauty group, today announced that they have received the required regulatory clearances for their equity investment in AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of North America's largest pharmaceutical services companies.

The regulatory clearances permit both the purchase of up to 7 percent of the fully diluted equity of AmerisourceBergen in the open market, and the exercise of two warrants for 16 percent in the aggregate of the fully diluted equity of AmerisourceBergen in 2016 and 2017. The clearances permit the investment in AmerisourceBergen up to 25 percent in the aggregate, including the effect of any stock repurchases that AmerisourceBergen may engage in from time to time. Walgreens and Alliance Boots announced that they had been granted the right to purchase a minority equity position in AmerisourceBergen as part of a broader innovative long-term agreement on March 19, 2013.

About Walgreens

As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become the first choice for health and daily living for everyone in America and beyond. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,086 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

About Alliance Boots

Alliance Boots is a leading international, pharmacy-led health and beauty group delivering a range of products and services to customers. Working in close partnership with manufacturers and pharmacists, we are committed to improving health in the local communities we serve and helping our customers and patients to look and feel their best. Our focus is on growing our two core businesses: pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution, while increasingly developing and internationalising our product brands.

Alliance Boots has a presence in more than 25* countries and employs over 108,000* people. Alliance Boots has pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in nine* countries and operates more than 3,100* health and beauty retail stores, of which just over 3,000* have a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots has around 605* optical practices, of which around 190* operate on a franchise basis, and around 390* hearingcare practices. Our pharmaceutical wholesale businesses deliver over 4.6 billion* units each year to more than 170,000* pharmacies, doctors, health centres and hospitals from over 370* distribution centres in 20* countries.

In June 2012, Alliance Boots announced that it had entered into a strategic partnership with Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore chain in the US, to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.

* Figures are approximations as at 31 March 2013 and include associates and joint ventures.

Walgreens Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.Statements in this release that are not historical, including, without limitation, estimates of future financial and operating performance, including the amounts and timing of future accretion and synergies, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "likely," "outlook," "forecast, "would," "could," "should," "can," "will," "project," "intend," "plan," "goal," "target," "continue," "sustain," "synergy," "on track," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "anticipate," "may," "possible," "assume," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those relating to our commercial agreement with AmerisourceBergen, the arrangements and transactions contemplated by our framework agreement with AmerisourceBergen and Alliance Boots and their possible effects, the Purchase and Option Agreement and other agreements relating to our strategic partnership with Alliance Boots, the arrangements and transactions contemplated thereby and their possible effects, the parties' ability to realize anticipated synergies and achieve anticipated financial results, the risks associated with transitions in supply arrangements, the risks associated with international business operations, the risks associated with governance and control matters, whether the option to acquire the remainder of the Alliance Boots equity interest will be exercised and the financial ramifications thereof, the risks associated with potential equity investments in AmerisourceBergen including whether the warrants to invest in AmerisourceBergen will be exercised and the financial ramifications thereof, changes in vendor, payer and customer relationships and terms, changes in network participation, levels of business with Express Scripts customers, the implementation, operation and growth of our customer loyalty program, changes in economic and market conditions, competition, risks associated with new business areas and activities, risks associated with acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments, the ability to realize anticipated results from capital expenditures and cost reduction initiatives, outcomes of legal and regulatory matters, and changes in legislation or regulations. These and other risks, assumptions and uncertainties are described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of Walgreen Co.'smost recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference, and in other documents that Walgreensfile or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except to the extent required by law, Walgreens does not undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the initial distribution of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

Investor Relations:
Walgreens
Rick Hans / Ashish Kohli
+1 847 315 2385 / +1 847 315 3810
or
Alliance Boots
Gerald Gradwell
+44 (0)207 980 8527 (UK), +1 646 688 1336 (US)
or
Media Relations:
Alliance Boots
Yves Romestan / Laura Vergani / Katie Johnson
+44 (0)207 980 8585
or
RLM Finsbury UK (London)
James Murgatroyd / Katie Lang / Yim Wong
+44 (0)207 251 3801
or
Walgreens
Michael Polzin
+1 847 315 2920
or
Walgreens
Jim Cohn
+1 847 315 2950
or
Brunswick US (New York)
Steve Lipin / Radina Russell
+1 212 333 3810

KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States Europe North America Illinois

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Walgreens and Alliance Boots Receive Regulatory Clearance to Make Equity Investment in AmerisourceBergen originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.