© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian passes a sign for a Walgreens pharmacy in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
(Reuters) – Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:) Inc is considering an acquisition of healthcare IT firm Evolent Health (NYSE:) Inc, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of Arlington, Virginia-based Evolent rose as much as 18% after the report, before paring some gains to trade up nearly 9%.
The talks are ongoing and there is no certainty Walgreens will move forward with an offer to buy the company, according to the report.
Evolent declined to comment, while Walgreens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Walgreens previously said it was focused on making strategic investments to build on its core pharmacy business. It made a $970 million investment last week to acquire a majority stake in specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions.
Evolent had a market value of $2.36 billion, based on Tuesday’s close. The company reached an agreement with activist investor Engaged Capital last year to appoint a new director and create a new board committee.
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