Walgreens Doubles Stake in VillageMD, Investing $5.2 Billion (2)

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to invest $5.2 billion in primary-care provider VillageMD, doubling its stake in the company to 63%.

The deal will increase the number of primary-care practices located at Walgreens stores to 1,000 by 2027, with more than half located in underserved communities, the companies said in a joint statement.

Drugstores are under pressure to increase their offerings as e-commerce firms including retail giant Amazon.com Inc. make inroads into the pharmacy sphere. Walgreens is raising its profile in value-based primary care, a quickly growing segment of the health-care market worth about $1 trillion, according to ...