Walgreens Boots Alliance to invest in Chinese pharmacy chain GuoDa
Walgreens Boots Alliance is to become an investor in China National Accord Medicines Corporation’s Guoda Drugstores chain which operates and franchises retail pharmacies across China.
Following a public tender process, Walgreens Boots Alliance is to acquire a 40% minority stake in GuoDa through a capital increase worth RMB2.767 billion.
A leading retail pharmacy chain in China, GuoDa is keen to expand across the country. Walgreens Boots Alliance said it believes it is well positioned to provide the right expertise to GuoDa to support its growth ambitions.
Walgreens Boots Alliance executive vice chairman and chief executive Stefano Pessina said: “We are very pleased to become a strategic investor in GuoDa. It is China’s leading pharmacy chain and we believe that we can positively contribute to its continued successful development with our global pharmacy expertise. We have had a presence in China for around 10 years, initially through Alliance Boots, and we are excited about the opportunity to further invest in the country’s fast growing retail pharmacy sector.”
