Walgreen’s and Rite Aid announced earlier this week that they have agreed to sell 865 stores to Fred’s for $950 million in order to alleviate any antitrust concerns related to their pending merger. Kroger had been rumored as the leading candidate to purchase the stores.
Currently Fred’s has 581 stores, most of which are in the Southeast. Although the locations of the 856 stores won’t be revealed until the Federal Trade Commission approves the merger between Walgreen’s and Rite Aid, the two companies said the stores to be sold would be located in the South, as well as the East and West coasts. If the deal goes through, Fred’s would become the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S.