Walgreens Boots Alliance has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 40 percent stake in Chinese pharmacy chain Sinopharm Guoda Drugstores Co, following a public tender process.

Walgreens revealed that it would pay approximately US$416 million for the share (RMB2.767 billion), buying from Sinopharm owner China National Accord Medicines Corporation.

“We are very pleased to become a strategic investor in GuoDa. It is China’s leading pharmacy chain and we believe that we can positively contribute to its continued successful development with our global pharmacy expertise. We have had presence in China for around 10 years, initially through Alliance Boots, and we are excited about the opportunity to further invest in the country’s fast-growing retail pharmacy sector.”

Chinese spend on healthcare is expected to reach US$1.1 trillion by 2020, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. GuoDa operates and franchises 3,500 pharmacies across 70 cities in China, and will pile the Walgreens investment into further expansion.