Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) today announced that, following receipt of regulatory approvals, it has completed the previously announced agreement to acquire a 40 percent minority stake in Sinopharm Holding GuoDa Drugstores Co., Ltd. (“GuoDa”), a leading retail pharmacy chain in China.

Sinopharm Holding Guoda Drugstore Co., Ltd. (“GuoDa”) is a large national pharmacy chain in China. It is China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation’s (CNPGC) retail pharmacy platform, established in March 2004 and headquartered in Shanghai.

GuoDa operates more than 3,800 retail pharmacies across around 70 cities, and employs close to 20,000 people. In 2016, GuoDa was consolidated into China National Accord Medicines Corporation Ltd. (“Sinopharm Accord”) (Shenzhen Stock Exchange/A Share: 000028). After over 10 years of rapid growth, GuoDa has developed national coverage across 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

In line with CNPGC’s strategy to further grow the State-owned pharmaceutical and healthcare business, GuoDa aims to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities created by the Chinese healthcare reform to further expand nationwide.

Wallgreens Boots Alliance Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Stefano Pessina commented: “We are delighted that we have received regulatory approvals and our investment agreement has now been completed. We believe GuoDa holds a strong position in the sector, and as a global pharmacy-led health and beauty enterprise, we are well positioned to support its further growth ambition. We are looking forward to sharing our international best practices and pharmacy expertise. We believe there is great potential in working together to play a transforming role in the evolving Chinese retail pharmacy market.”