Walgreens Boots Alliance has sold more shares of drug distributor Cencora for proceeds of about $300 ... [+] million, primarily for debt paydown and general corporate purposes, the drugstore giant said Thursday night, Feb. 6, 2025. In this photo, Walgreens signage is displayed outside a Walgreens store June 4, 2003 in Niles, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)Getty ImagesWalgreens Boots Alliance has sold more shares of drug distributor Cencora for proceeds of about $300 million, primarily for debt paydown and general corporate purposes, the company said Thursday night. The stock sale, which comes as chief executive officer Tim Wentworth works on a financial turnaround of the iconic drugstore chain, brings Walgreens stake in Cencora down to 6% from 10%.The stock sale comes a week after Walgreens suspended its quarterly dividend payments to stockholders for the first time in nearly a century as the company works to free up cash to fund the companys broader long-term turnaround, Walgreens said last week. The drugstore giant is already in the early stages of closing more than 1,200 stores.Walgreens began reducing its stake in the distributor, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, and other businesses in the last four years to raise money for other priorities such as the creation of a new specialty pharmacy business as well as putting more healthcare services in its stores.Thursday nights announcement was part of an announcement regarding Walgrens selling certain prepaid variable share forward transactions, the company said. Concurrent with the early settlement, the Company executed a sale of the remaining 1.3 million shares of Cencora pledged under the early settled contracts. The Company receives approximately $300 million from the early settlement and the concurrent sale of shares.MORE FOR YOUWalgreens said the "proceeds from these transactions as well as other actions, including the recent suspension of the dividend, further help position the Company to address its upcoming debt maturities in fiscal 2026.Though Walgreens stake in Cencora continues to fall, the company said the sale has no impact to the long-term partnership between the two companies.Walgreens Boots Alliance remains fully committed to the strategic, mutually beneficial relationship with Cencora, which has been a strong and trusted partner since 2013, the company said. Chief Operating Officer, International of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Ornella Barra, will continue to serve on Cencoras Board of Directors.