Brookshires Grocery sells 120 pharmacies to Walgreens, including Arkansas operations

Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) announced an agreement with Walgreens for the publicly-traded pharmacy chain to acquire 120 Brookshire pharmacies in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Grocery store operations are not part of the transaction.

Financial terms of the Brookshire-Walgreens deal were not disclosed.

Walgreens will receive pharmacy customer prescription files and related pharmacy inventory. The vast majority of Brookshire locations are being converted to Walgreens pharmacies within existing grocery stores.

Tyler, Texas-based Brookshires operates Arkansas locations in Arkadelphia, Ashdown, Camden, Crossett, El Dorado, Hot Springs, Magnolia and White Hall.

“We are excited to take this next step with Walgreens to strengthen our pharmacies and further our commitment to our employee-partners and customers that make up our BGC family,” said Brad Brookshire, Chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery Co. “The pharmacy industry has become increasingly complex over the past few years, and it was important to us to find a business leader that has the capabilities to focus on providing exceptional pharmacy services and value to our customers.”

Eligible Brookshire pharmacy employees will be offered employment opportunities with Walgreens. In addition, pharmacy customers do not need to not take any action for their prescriptions to be transferred over. Customers’ prescriptions will transfer to Walgreens automatically. Customers will receive notification in the mail along with details about their prescriptions.

“Walgreens has a long history of serving communities throughout the U.S., and we look forward to providing BGC’s customers with greater access to a wide range of trusted pharmacy and healthcare services,” said Brad Ulrich, Vice President of Pharmacy and Retail Operations for Walgreens. “Our pharmacists are playing a critical role in healthcare today, and we truly value the importance of the pharmacist-patient relationship. As part of our commitment to ensuring a seamless transition, we’re excited to also be providing employment opportunities for BGC’s existing pharmacy staff.”

As part of the agreement, some pharmacy locations will close, but those stores have not been disclosed. Patient files will transfer to either another in-store pharmacy at Brookshires or a nearby Walgreens retail pharmacy.

Brookshires said it will “continue to operate and invest” in its retail grocery business in its more than 205 stores.