Walgreens Snags UK Drug Giant

made a major move Tuesday toward creating a global chain of pharmacies when it acquired a 45 percent interest in Britain’s biggest group, Alliance Boots, for $6.7 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

The deal is the biggest in company history. Walgreens will pay $4 billion in cash and the balance in stock with an option to gain full control within three years, according to the report. When the transaction is complete Walgreens will have more than 11,000 stores spread over 12 countries with 370 distribution centers to pharmacies, doctors and hospitals.

In other company news, Walgreens announced in a statement Tuesday the loss of revenue from Express Scripts customers contributed to an 11 percent decline in its fiscal third quarter profit. The company’s shares had declined 3.3 percent this year before Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

To better keep up with Deerfield news follow Patch on Twitter and Facebook.