Shares of Rite Aid spiked more than 4 percent Friday after the New York Post reported Walgreens Boots Alliance is renewing talks with the FTC to seal a deal between the drug-store giants.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is negotiating what it would need to sell in order to gain FTC regulatory approval for a deal, a source told the New York Post. The divestiture talks, the source said, are a sign that regulators don't staunchly oppose the merger.
Walgreens originally announced an all-cash offer to buy Rite Aid for $9 a share in October 2015. The figure represented a 48 percent premium to Rite Aid's closing price. An approval of the deal would create the world's largest drug-store chain, topping CVS Health.
FTC reviews have put a stick in the spokes of other major deals. In May, Staples' planned merger with Office Depot unraveled after a U.S. district court sided with the Federal Trade Commission against the $6 billion deal.
Shares of Rite Aid traded near $7.28, down from their 52-year high of $9.47, and have dropped more than 7 percent year to date. Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance fell more than 1.5 percent Friday, trading near $82.52.