Walgreen sets deadline on $9.7bn Rite Aid merger
Walgreen has set a three month deadline for the Federal Trade Commission to either approve or block its proposed $9.7bn merger with Rite Aid. The bold move is likely based on the potential regulatory change that the Trump administration could make in choosing a deal-friendly commissioner to oversee the transaction.
Walgreen has made a risky move to win regulatory approval for its $9.7 billion merger with Rite Aid — and it looks like a wager on Trump’s pick to head the Federal Trade Commission.

Fed up with delays on getting a nod for the controversial deal, Walgreen has set a deadline of roughly three months for the FTC to either block the merger or let it go forward, two sources told The Post.

Typically, such declarations of so-called “certified compliance” — a notification that a merger applicant believes it has supplied all the information regulators need to make a decision on the deal — also prevent the commission from ruling well ahead of the deadline.

As such, Walgreen’s move is likely a bet that the regulatory environment will get better in three months. Specifically, Walgreen appears to be wagering that President Trump will install a deal-friendly commissioner to review the deal, insiders said.

According to sources close to the situation, Trump has met with and is considering tapping Sean Reyes — a Republican who is Utah’s attorney general — to head the FTC.

That’s on the heels of the Trump administration’s January ouster of Edith Ramirez, a Democrat who had successfully blocked mergers between Staples and Office Depot, as well as Sysco and US Foods, citing antitrust concerns.

“Who is FTC chair is important,” a source close to the merger said.

The FTC currently has just two commissioners sitting on its five-member panel since Democrat Edith Ramirez stepped down as chairwoman Feb. 10 — Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, and Terrell McSweeny, a Democrat.

Ohlhausen, the interim chair, has recently approved the drafting of a legal complaint that would enable the FTC to sue and block the merger, according to a source close to the situation.

“You would expect Reyes to be business-friendly,” the source said, although it would take determination to overrule the FTC staff in his first major decision, the source said.

Ohlhausen is also pushing to be the permanent FTC chair herself, insiders said. Since she is already an FTC commissioner, she would not need to be confirmed by Congress.

Walgreen’s lead outside attorney, Stephen Newborn, is known for his brinksmanship, but seems concerned the present two commissioners, Ohlhausen and McSweeny, might both vote to bring a suit, one source said.