Walgreens to Buy Duane Reade

New Yorkers no longer have their own drug store chain thanks to Walgreen's recent decision to purchase Duane Reade. The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal, an all-cash transaction that includes the assumption of $480 million in debt, is Walgreen's largest retail acquisition ever. It will tack on 257 stores in the New York area, the biggest drugstore market in the U.S. The Deerfield, Ill.-based chain had been slow to build a presence in New York, with just 13 stores in Manhattan and 70 in the broader metropolitan area.

What do you think of the acquisition by Walgreens? What will become of Duane Reade's newly minted private label line?