Fred's Pharmacy Could Be Back in M&A Market

Fred's Pharmacy (FRED) may be reversing course and opening itself up for takeout bids a couple of years after it rejected acquisition offers. The pharmacy operator opted out of a Q&A session during its third quarter earnings call last Thursday due to a pending transaction, though the company did not elaborate on that explanation. TheDeal reported that Fred's could be close to an agreement to purchase a handful of stores being divested by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) - Get Report due to its pending acquisition of Rite Aid  (RAD) - Get Report . But after rejecting acquisition offers in 2014, the stock's performance in recent quarters may have changed the dynamics in terms of price this time around, a source told TheStreet. Our colleague, Sarah Pringle, says that Fred's could fetch between $485 million and $600 million based on its approximately 37.35 million outstanding shares.