Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) today announced that its wholly
owned subsidiary, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., has priced an
underwritten public offering of unsecured, unsubordinated notes
consisting of:
-
£400 million of 2.875% notes due 2020
-
£300 million of 3.600% notes due 2025
-
€750 million of 2.125% notes due 2026
The sale of the notes is expected to close on Nov. 20, 2014, subject to
customary closing conditions. The company intends to use the net
proceeds from the offering, together with the net proceeds from the
previously announced U.S. dollar notes offering, to fund a portion of
the cash consideration payable in connection with the previously
announced acquisition of the 55 percent equity interest in Alliance
Boots GmbH that Walgreens does not currently own, to refinance
substantially all of Alliance Boots GmbH’s existing borrowings, and/or
to pay related fees and expenses. Following the completion of the second
step of the Alliance Boots transaction, a portion of the net proceeds
from the sale of the notes may also be used for general corporate
purposes, including the repayment of $750 million principal amount of
Walgreen Co. 1.000% Notes due March 13, 2015.
Subject to shareholder approval, it is expected that, immediately prior
to the completion of the second step of the Alliance Boots transaction,
Walgreen Co. will be reorganized into a holding company structure and
will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
The joint book-running managers for the offering are: Goldman, Sachs &
Co, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, Merrill Lynch International, HSBC
Bank plc, J.P. Morgan Securities plc, Morgan Stanley & Co. International
plc, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the
solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these
securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale
would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
These securities are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf
registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and
related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained on the
SEC website at http://www.sec.gov
or by contacting Goldman, Sachs & Co. by mail at Prospectus Department,
200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by telephone at 1-201-793-5170 or
by email at prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com;
Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch by telephone at 1-800-503-4611; Merrill
Lynch International by telephone at 1-800-294-1322 or by email at dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com;
HSBC Bank plc by telephone at 1-866-811-8049; J.P. Morgan Securities plc
by telephone at 44-207-134-2468; Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc
by telephone at 1-866-718-1649; and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC by mail
at 608 2nd Avenue, South Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attention: WFS Customary
Service, by telephone at 1-800-645-3751, or by email at wfscustomerservice@wellsfargo.com.
About Walgreens
As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2014 sales of $76
billion, Walgreens’ vision is to be America's most loved pharmacy-led
health, wellbeing and beauty enterprise. Each day, in communities across
America, more than 8 million customers interact with Walgreens using the
most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and
trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and
advice. Walgreens’ scope of pharmacy services includes retail,
specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with
online and mobile services. These services improve health outcomes and
lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations,
health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The
company operates 8,218 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Walgreens’ digital business includes Walgreens.com, drugstore.com,
Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Walgreens also manages
more than 400 Healthcare Clinic and provider practice locations around
the country.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking
statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect,"
"likely," "outlook," "forecast," "would," "could," "should," "can,"
"will," "project," "intend," "plan," "goal," "target," "continue,"
"sustain," "synergy," "on track," "believe," "seek," "estimate,"
"anticipate," "may," "possible," "assume," and variations of such words
and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors)
of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, which is
incorporated herein by reference, and in other documents that we file or
furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more
of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from
those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are
made. Except to the extent required by law, Walgreens does not
undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty or obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of this release,
whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in
assumptions or otherwise.
Copyright Business Wire 2014