Walgreens makes another move to pay down debt

To pay down its debt, Walgreens Boots Alliance has sold shares of Cencora, a drug distributor, for around $1.1 billion, reports Reuters.

Walgreens now owns 10% of Cencora and has sold $818 million of the distributor’s shares while agreeing to repurchase shares worth $250 million.

Money from the sale will also be used for general corporate purposes.

During its third-quarter earnings call in late June, Walgreens said it planned to close a “significant number” of underperforming retail locations in the U.S. amid what the retailer described as an extremely challenging operating environment.

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said about 25% of the company’s 8,700 locations were currently underperforming.

Walgreens also said it planned to reduce its stake in VillageMD and will no longer be the majority owner.

The Deerfield, Ill.-based company reported its overall adjusted operating income was down 36.3% year over year to $613 million in the third quarter.