Two influential U.S. senators called for close scrutiny of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc's plan to purchase Rite Aid Corp for $9.4 billion, a deal that would unite two of the three biggest U.S. drugstore chains.Walgreens Chief Executive Stefano Pessina said the company had analyzed the antitrust aspect of the deal but would not speculate on the number of drugstores it might need to divest in order to win regulatory approval.Walgreens ranks first and Rite Aid third by number of stores, either side of CVS Health Corp. The top two antitrust lawmakers in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday urged antitrust enforcers to give the plan careful scrutiny because of the importance of healthcare in the U.S. economy.
CVS Health Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, is a pharmacy company. Shares of CVS fell by 1.41% or $-1.48/share to $103.81. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $81.37 and as high as $113.65. On average, 5046660 shares of CVS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6465627.
Rite Aid Corporation is a retail drugstore chain. Shares of RAD fell by 7.04% or $-0.61/share to $8.06. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $5.01 and as high as $9.47. On average, 24873500 shares of RAD exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 242498394.
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