WALGREENS

NEW YORK — Challenging "vague" reports suggesting the Walgreens deal to acquire Rite Aid may be in jeopardy, Deutsche Bank on Friday issued a research note outlining the number of options Walgreens still has at its disposal leading up to the Jan. 27 deadline.

NEW YORK  — Is today the day? The much anticipated approval for the Walgreens/Rite Aid merger, through which Walgreens has proposed to pay $9.4 billion for the acquisition of Rite Aid's 4,547 stores in an effort to bolster its national footprint, did not happen by Friday morning as many had speculated.

Now there is a new countdown clock — the deal is set to expire Jan. 27 if not approved before that time.

DEERFIELD, Ill.  — The Walgreens Flu Index is tracking a significant uptick in influenza across the Lone Star state, according to the company's weekly report.

The top 10 markets as measured by flu activity for the week of Jan. 15 are:

PHOENIX  — Equinox Payments on Wednesday announced that all Equinox terminal solutions are now integrated with Android Pay, including the L5300 multi-lane terminals used by Walgreens, the first retailer to integrate its loyalty program with Android Pay on the L5300s in its stores nationwide.

WASHINGTON – The National Confectioners Association on Monday announced that Christina Groth from Kroger and Brian Rinker from Walgreens are the recipients of the 2017 Confectionery Leadership Awards. The award celebrates the honorees’ contributions to the category through their effective business collaboration, category management best practices, and innovations in merchandising confectionery products in-store.

NEW YORK  — Almost half (48%) of the more-than 200 DSN readers who weighed in on when the Walgreens Boots Alliance/Rite Aid deal would be approved are laying odds that it will happen before the inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.

That's in three days.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred’s Pharmacy on Jan. 11 issued 490,074 shares of its Class A common stock to A.T. Kearney in consideration of consulting services. The aggregate value of the shares is approximately $4.5 million.

HOUSTON  — Cardtronics on Tuesday announced an extended and expanded long-term ATM services agreement with Walgreens.

“ATM service is an important convenience for our customers,” stated Moe Alkemade, group VP and general merchandise manager for Walgreens.  “We are pleased these agreements mean that millions of payment card users will have surcharge-free access to ATMs in our stores. It’s another customer-focused service we’re happy to provide.”