Walgreens Expected to Buy Rite Aid, Norristown Stores Affected

By JUSTIN HEINZE and TIM MORAN

Walgreens is expected to buy Rite Aid Corp. in a deal that would unite the nation’s second and third largest drugstore chains, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited sources Tuesday.

Both chains are extremely popular in southeastern Pennsylvania and across Montgomery County.

There are Walgreens on Main Street, Germantown Pike, and Dekalb Pike in Norristown. There are Rite Aids, meanwhile, on Markley Street, Main Street, and Johnson Highway.

Deerfield-based Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. may make an announcement as soon as Wednesday. With more than 13,200 stores in 11 countries, the deal would put the worth of the new combined company at about $10 billion.

Walgreens also operates under the name “Duane Reade.”

According to the WSJ, “Putting their drugstore networks together could yield cost savings at a time when the companies have been beset by drug-cost inflation. Other benefits could be derived from marrying Walgreens’ wholesale operation with Rite Aid.”

Rite Aid, which is based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, has about 4,600 drugstores in 31 states. Only Walgreens and CVS are larger chains.

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