Just hours after rumors began swirling that a proposal was in the works, Walgreens Boots Alliance – the holding company that owns Walgreens Co. and Boots pharmacies in Europe – officially dropped to one knee offering Rite Aid $9.4 billion to live happily ever drug store after. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that Walgreens Boots Alliance announced late Tuesday that it would add the Rite Aid branded drug stores to its portfolio creating a mega-pharmacy chain.

The deal, which will face antitrust scrutiny, combines the country’s first- and third- largest drugstore chains, vaulting far beyond rival chain CVS’ reach.

Currently, Walgreens Boots Alliance operates more than 8,200 stores in the country, while Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid operates more than 4,600 stores in the U.S.

The merger would be the latest in a recent spate of new combinations in the healthcare industry as companies try to lower costs and get more leverage with suppliers: health insurer Anthem is buying Cigna, and Aetna offered $37 billion for Humana.

Walgreens, Rite Aid Unite to Create Drugstore Giant [The Wall Street Journal]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.