Firms team up to buy Fred's pharmacies
Little Rock-based pharmacy chain Express Rx has joined with a private equity firm in New York City to purchase 10 pharmacies operated by the Fred's discount chain.
None of the stores are in Arkansas.
"This is an important milestone in our company's proud history," Galen Perkins, Express Rx's chief executive officer, said Thursday in a news release. "We welcome the opportunity to provide high-quality healthcare to Fred's customers and their communities."
Terms of the sale, which is expected to close in November, were not disclosed.
Fred's began a series of store closings this spring, culminating in the closing of about 60 stores in Arkansas. Some of those stores had pharmacies, which remained open after general merchandise sales had ceased. Fred's, based in Memphis, filed for bankruptcy in September.
Express Rx, in its venture with MHR Fund Management LLC , is buying Fred's pharmacies in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Express Rx has two pharmacies in Little Rock, one each in Cabot and Sherwood, three in Oklahoma and one in Missouri, according to its website.
-- Stephen Steed
Survey sees uptick in rural economy
OMAHA, Neb. -- The latest survey of bankers in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states showed an improved rural economy this month, but the ongoing trade disputes continue weighing on the economy.
The Rural Mainstreet survey's overall index climbed to 51.4 for October from 50.1 in September. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says federal crop support payments and higher grain prices helped support October's index, but he noted that nearly three-quarters of bankers "reported continuing negative impacts from the trade war."
The confidence index, which reflects bankers' economic expectations six months out, slumped to 36.5 from September's already low 42.9.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
-- The Associated Press
Arkansas Index stocks post up day
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 437.92, up 1.16.
"The health care sector outperformed as equities opened higher following the announcement of new terms for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, but the S&P 500 Index struggled to hold above the 3,000 level," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 10/18/2019