KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Grocery-store chain Kroger is selling its specialty pharmacy business to U.S. health insurer Elevance Health.
- Kroger didn’t disclose financial details of the deal, which it said is expected to close in the second half of 2024.
- The deal comes after the Federal Trade Commission last month sued to block the merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
Grocery-store chain Kroger (KR) is selling its specialty pharmacy business to U.S. health insurer Elevance Health (ELV).
Kroger didn’t disclose the financial details of the deal, which it said is expected to close in the second half of 2024. The specialty pharmacy business serves patients with chronic illness that requires complex care, according to the grocery-store firm.
Kroger said the specialty pharmacy business is separate from its in-store retail pharmacies and The Little Clinic business, which aren’t part of the transaction.
The deal comes after the Federal Trade Commission last month sued to block the merger between Kroger and Albertsons (ACI), arguing the tie-up would put upward pressure on already elevated food prices.
The regulator said last month that the two companies had offered to divest “several hundred stores and select other assets” to C&S Wholesale Grocers to secure antitrust approval for their merger.
The deal, a $24.6 billion transaction, was announced in 2022 and could create a chain of 5,000 stores.