Walgreens had entered into an agreement to acquire Rite aid in October 2015. The agreement was stalled while both companies waited for approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In December 2016, divestiture of many Rite Aid locations to Fred’s, Inc was announced. This was intended as an appeasement in order to get the FTC’s approval.

Walgreens and Rite Aid made the decision to scrap the merger after receiving feedback from the FTC leading them to believe the merger was not going to be approved. They have announced a new agreement, Walgreens will purchase 2,186 stores, three distribution centers, and …