Walgreen And Express Scripts Reach Deal

CHICAGO — Walgreen , the nation’s largest drugstore chain, agreed on Thursday to renew its relationship with the prescription benefit manager Express Scripts , opening the door for hundreds of thousands of customers to return in September for discounts and related benefits from their Express Scripts drug cards.

Express Scripts and Walgreen, which announced the new multiyear agreement, had been battling over payment issues for more than a year.

The dispute cost Walgreens more than $4 billion in annual revenue, analysts estimate, and set off a steep decline in Walgreen’s share price.

Terms of the new agreement were not disclosed. Shares of Walgreen rose 11.8 percent, to $34.62, on Thursday, while Express Scripts was up about 1.85 percent, to $58.76.

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