In accordance with requirements outlined by the Competition Bureau, U.S. health care company McKesson Corporation has agreed to sell off 28 Rexall drugstores as part of their purchase of the pharmacy chain from Edmonton-based Katz Group.

The divestment requirement affects stores located in small communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Alberta, including a Rexall pharmacy in Fort Macleod and Blairmore’s own Rexall on 20th Avenue.

“For now, in the affected locations, it’s business as usual,” writes David Simmonds, Vice President of Public Affairs at McKesson in an email. “Over the coming weeks, McKesson will work to divest those stores to new owners. The details of each sale are yet to be worked out. We look forward to continuing to ensure that Canadians enjoy access, service and the quality experience they have come to know and trust.”

Simmonds did not comment on what would happen should a sale to new owners not be achievable, although a statement released by McKesson indicated that they do not anticipate any store closures as a result of divestitures.

The agreement culminates the Competition Bureau’s extensive review of the acquisition, which was announced in March 2016.

The Competition Bureau’s resolution is intended to preserve competition in the wholesale and retail sale of pharmacy products and services. McKesson will also restrict the exchange of "commercially sensitive information" between its wholesale and the Rexall retail business.

“We are pleased to have received regulatory approval from the Competition Bureau of Canada,” stated Paul C. Julian, Executive Vice President and Group President of McKesson Corporation in a statement. “Together, McKesson and Rexall Health will continue to deliver choice and access, integrated pharmacy care and industry-leading service levels.”

With this $3 billion acquisition, San Francisco-based McKesson will become the seventh-largest pharmacy retailer in North America. With over 7,100 pharmacies operating in Canada, it is already the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the country.

This marks yet another sale of a Canadian-owned company to an American enterprise.