WBE gains $1.85 billion in stock sale

DEERFIELD - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it has sold shares of AmerisourceBergen Corp. common stock for approximately $1.6 billion.

In addition, the company will sell additional shares to AmerisourceBergen in a stock repurchase program for proceeds of approximately $250 million.

Pennsylvania-based AmerisourceBergen distributes drugs to veterinarians and livestock producers, while helping pharmaceutical manufacturers bring their veterinary products to market.

Following the stock repurchase, WBA's ownership stake in AmerisourceBergen will drop to about 16%, the company said.

Walgreens said proceeds will be used primarily for debt paydown and general corporate purposes.

The stock sale involves two prepaid variable share forward transactions scheduled to settle at two maturities, the first starting in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 and the second starting in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, at which time Walgreens Boots Alliance intends to deliver 10.5 million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock in the aggregate to counterparties to the transactions, and the company may receive additional proceeds up to $517 million depending on the stock price at the time, WBA said.