(Reuters) - Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) said its deal to buy smaller rival Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) would now take six months longer to close and also reduced its offer price as it expects to divest more stores to gain regulatory approval. Meanwhile, the revised price for WBA to acquire Rite Aid has been reduced to a minimum of $6.50 per share and a maximum of $7.00 per share, which would lower the cash portion of the transaction to approximately $6.84 billion to $7.37 billion, plus the assumption of Rite Aid’s debt. The original acquisition offer on Oct. 27, 2015, was for $9 per share and the assumption of over $7 billion in net debt, for a total deal value of $17.2 billion. A merger agreement that expired Friday night to complete the transaction has now been extended from Jan. 27, 2017 to July 31, 2017 "in order to allow the parties additional time to obtain regulatory approval," Walgreens said. Walgreens said last December -- more than a year after announcing the Rite Aid deal -- that it would sell 865 stores to rival retailer Fred's for $950 million to address concerns raised by federal anti-trust regulators. “The revised price will be a maximum of $7.00 per share and a minimum of $6.50 per share.”

In addition, Walgreens said it will be required to divest up to 1,200 Rite Aids “and certain additional related assets if required to obtain regulatory approval.” That means the specific price of the total Rite Aid purchase will be “be determined based on the number of required store divestitures, with the price set at $7.00 per share if 1,000 stores or fewer are required for divestiture and at $6.50 per share if 1,200 stores are required for divestiture.”

The announcement Monday comes after weeks of haggling with FTC lawyers on a way for Walgreens to buy Rite Aid.
Walgreens Boots Alliance reduces its offer price for Rite Aid and defers the expected closing date by six months due to concerns about regulatory approval.