Financial News

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Wednesday reported March sales of $6.2 billion, an increase of 2.3%. 

NEW YORK — Mad Money's Jim Cramer tabbed Safeway over Whole Foods in an interview with The Street published Tuesday.

ST. LOUIS — Centene Corp. has purchased specialty pharmacy provider AcariaHealth for a combination of cash and stock, Centene said Tuesday.

Monday's purchase of AcariaHealth, formally known as Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings, was financed through a combination of 1.7 million shares of Centene stock, cash and up to $15.3 million of Centene stock from an equity offering related to funding.

PHILADELPHIA — Frazier Healthcare on Tuesday announced its acquisition of AndersonBrecon, the contract pharmaceutical packaging business and wholly owned subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen. Packaging Coordinators, a provider of pharmaceutical and biotechnology packaging services and Frazier Healthcare portfolio company, will combine with AndersonBrecon to offer services on a global scale.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway has launched its annual April fundraising campaign to benefit people with disabilities, the supermarket chain said Monday.

The company said The Safeway Foundation, its philanthropic arm, had launched the campaign to benefit Easter Seals, Special Olympics and other groups, saying its Support for People with Disabilities campaign had contributed more than $140 million.

CLEVELAND — American Greetings greeting card company has agreed to be taken private by a group led by some of its top executives for about $602 million, the company announced today.

The executive group was formed by the Weiss family — including chairman Morry Weiss; CEO Zev Weiss; director, president and COO Jeffrey Weiss and others — and will buy the shares of the company they don't already own for $18.20 a piece in cash. This amounts to a 13% premium to American Greetings' closing price of $16.10 last Thursday.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Perrigo Co. has completed its acquisition of a Pennsylvania-based animal health company, the drug maker said Monday.

Perrigo announced that it has closed its purchase of Yardley, Pa.-based Velcera for about $160 million. The company makes OTC products for pets, specializing in products traditionally dispensed only by veterinarians. Its products include PetArmor, a flea and tick repellent that had sales of more than $100 million last year.

NEW YORK — Parsippany, N.J.-based Pinnacle Foods — manufacturer and distributor of such food brands as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Mrs. Butterworth’s and others — opened for trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PF” after its initial public offering.

CEO Bob Gamgort, along with members of Pinnacle Foods’ leadership team, celebrated the company’s first day of trading by ringing the NYSE Opening Bell and visiting the trading floor to observe the stock opening.