Let’s revisit the Walgreens Boots Alliance—Rite Aid deal. Instead of an acquisition, the revised transaction calls for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) to buy 2,186 Rite Aid stores and three distribution centers for $5.2 billion. WBA will also pay a $325 million termination fee to Rite Aid.
If the deal receives regulatory approval, Rite Aid will shrink to a multi-regional pharmacy chain with about half as many stores. It will, however, hold onto EnvisionRx, the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that it acquired in 2015.
Unfortunately, EnvisionRx remains a small, struggling regional PBM with limited growth. Its revenues in 2017 have been declining. There also appears to be no material synergies between Rite Aid’s retail pharmacy business and its Envision PBM.
Last week, Rite Aid disclosed that it will use $4.9 billion of its $5.5 billion windfall to repay debt. (Pro forma financials below.) Given the performance troubles that I outline below, I wonder whether investors will trust the current management team to spend the cash wisely.
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