Following its $13.7 billion deal to acquire Whole Foods, experts speculate Amazon may consider testing the waters in other industries, such as the drugstore retail business, during the next several years, according to a Forbes report.
Analysts at Tokyo-based investment banking firm Mizuho Securities suggest Amazon's only viable entry into the drugstore retailer industry would be through the acquisition of a major retailer. While Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS and Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens would constitute "monster deals" for the online retailer, analysts said the acquisition of Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid "is a real possibility," according to the report.
The Federal Trade Commission is expected to issue a decision on the Rite Aid-Walgreens merger in July. Some experts, however, are skeptical the agency will approve the deal.
If the deal ends up in litigation, it could be another year or more before Amazon could negotiate a potential acquisition of Rite Aid, according to the report.