Alliance Boots and Walgreens confirm merger deal

Alliance Boots has announced that its US strategic partner Walgreens has exercised its option to merge the two companies.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015 and will form a new organisation called Walgreens Boots Alliance, which will be the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.

Boots will continue to be headquartered in Nottingham and the current support offices of Alliance Healthcare will remain across Europe, with the new combined enterprise to be based in the Chicago area.

The management team will include senior executives from both companies, led by Greg Wasson as president and chief executive. Meanwhile, Stefano Pessina, executive chairman at Alliance Boots, will act as executive vice-chairman of the new organisation.

Mr Pessina said: "The expected creation of the new enterprise will represent the most significant milestone in the history of our group and, importantly, a very positive step for the future of the healthcare industry as a whole."

This comes in the same week that the firm confirmed its acquisition of Farmacias Benavides and Farmacias Ahumada, two major retail pharmacy networks in Latin America.