Walgreens agrees to acquire Rite Aid for $17.2B

Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to purchase Rite Aid, America's third-largest drugstore chain with nearly 4,600 stores, for about $17.2 billion, including debt.

In the deal, Walgreens would pay $9 a share, a 48 percent premium to Rite Aid's closing price Monday.

Rite Aid, which had sales of $26.5 billion for its fiscal year ended Feb. 28, is largely focused on filling prescriptions. They account for nearly 70 percent of its revenue.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune.