The latest sale reduced Walgreens’ ownership of AmerisourceBergen common stock from about 20% to about 17%, Walgreens said in its statement.
Walgreens also sold $2 billion of the company’s stock in early November and sold 6 million shares at $150 per share in May, raising $900 million, according to a statement. The latest sell-off brings the total raised this year to nearly $4 billion.
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Walgreens held 52.9 million shares of AmerisourceBergen, or a 25.5% stake, as of August 2, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Walgreens said Thursday it will use the proceeds to repay debt and fund strategic priorities, including a definitive agreement for VillageMD to acquire Summit Health-CityMD for $9 billion.
Walgreens also said that the stock sale does not change the strategic partnership it has had with the drug wholesaler since 2013.
The statement said Walgreens International CEO Ornella Barra will continue to serve on AmerisourceBergen’s board of directors.
This story first appeared in Crain’s Chicago Business.
