The deal, which was announced in January, also fetched Walgreens Boots Alliance two million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock, the company said today (June 2).

In January, the companies said in a joint statement that the agreement would lead to “even stronger support for pharmacies and pharmacists across the globe and integrated solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers”.

It would also allow Walgreens Boots Alliance to “increase its focus on expanding its core retail pharmacy businesses”, they added.

The companies confirmed at the time that Alliance Healthcare would remain Boots' distribution partner until 2031, although details on what will happen after this date have not yet been announced.

Following today's announcement, Alliance Healthcare's managing director Julian Mount said the acquisition is a “positive step forward”, because it “affords us the chance to expand, evolve and innovate on each other’s best-in-class expertise and capabilities across the pharmaceutical supply chain”.

AmerisourceBergen chairman, president and chief executive officer Steven Collis said the company was “excited” to compete the deal.

“The acquisition of Alliance Healthcare expands our reach and solutions in pharmaceutical distribution and adds to AmerisourceBergen’s breadth and depth of global manufacturer services,” he added.