Walgreens Sells Some AmerisourceBergen Shares For $694M

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA sold shares in AmerisourceBergen Corporation ABC for $694 million in initial proceeds.
In a concurrent share repurchase transaction, AmerisourceBergen will repurchase about $50 million of its common stock from Walgreens.
Walgreens will use the proceeds raised from the transaction for debt paydown and general corporate purposes.
Also Read: AmerisourceBergen Boosts 2023 Earnings Outlook, As Q2 Profits, Sales Beat Estimates
Walgreens Boots Alliance's ownership of AmerisourceBergen's common stock has decreased due to the concurrent share repurchase by AmerisourceBergen but remains at approximately 17%.
Walgreens's ownership of ABC common stock has not been impacted by the entry into the variable prepaid forward transactions.
After the deal, Walgreens will maintain its voting and dividend rights in the AmerisourceBergen common stock.
The contracts are scheduled to settle starting in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, when Walgreens may receive additional proceeds of up to $204 million.
Walgreens said the sale would not impact the long-term partnership between the two companies.
Price Action: WBA shares closed lower by 1.33% at $31.17, and ABC shares by 1.43% at $171.44 on Thursday.