"There are about 13 states, primarily California and the East Coast, where WBA and Rite Aid have sizable overlap that could raise antitrust concerns," Aggarwal stated. "The FTC has historically looked at competition within a two-mile operating radius in the drug store space to determine store closings. Barring a significant number of store divestitures, Fitch expects that even with FTC-mandated store closings in certain markets, WBA could capture or transfer some of the prescription volume of any closed stores (unless they are acquired by other retailers), mitigating some of the impact." At WBA's annual shareholders meeting last week, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer Stefano Pessina said the Rite Aid acquisition "will go a long way to help fill the gaps in our geographical coverage in the U.S. in one step." He added that "this deal can be harmonized with the Walgreens business" and promises other benefits to WBA.