Walgreen to buy BioScrip business units

Walgreen Co. said it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BioScrip's community specialty pharmacies, and centralized specialty and mail-service pharmacy businesses for about $225 million.

An additional $60 million in purchase price may be payable based on Walgreen's retention of certain business, the drugstore chain said in a news release.

The Deerfield, Ill.-based company said the BioScrip assets will support Walgreen's strategy to grow its centralized specialty and mail-service pharmacy businesses. BioScrip operates 30 community specialty pharmacies in 16 states.

“Many of our patients will benefit from expanded access to new and limited-distribution drugs for chronic conditions such as HIV, cancer and organ transplant,” Walgreen President and CEO Gregory Wasson said in the news release. “This acquisition also significantly expands our nationwide reach to an additional half-million patients with chronic and complex health conditions who have strong clinical relationships with their current BioScrip pharmacy.”

BioScrip, an Elmsford, N.Y.-based provider of pharmacy and home health services, said in a separate news release that the divestiture will allow it to offer better service to the growing home or alternate-site healthcare services sector.

“This important step allows us to concentrate our focus on a market segment in which we have meaningful strengths and distinct competitive advantages,” said Richard Smith, BioScrip's president and CEO, in the news release. “Additionally, the divestiture enables us to remove corporate overhead related to our legacy business.”

The transaction is expected to close in April.