The FTC is currently operating with only 2 of its 5 members due to the slow pace of the federal nomination process. The deal is one of a notable string of mergers to fall apart in the last year due to regulatory concerns – something to keep in mind given the looming Sprint/T-Mobile merger negotiation.
June 29, 2017
‘Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. nixed their $9.4 billion merger agreement, the latest in a series of high-profile deals to be derailed by antitrust enforcers.
Instead, Walgreens said Thursday it would seek to buy half of Rite Aid’s stores for $5.18 billion in cash. Executives said they had crafted the new smaller deal to address regulatory issues, but antitrust experts said there could still be competition concerns.’