UPDATE 1-Loblaw to buy Shoppers Drug Mart for C$12.4 bln
July 15, 2013 at 06:51 AM EDT
July 15 (Reuters) - Loblaw Cos Ltd, Canada's largest food retailer, will buy Shoppers Drug Mart Corp for C$12.4 billion ($11.9 billion), as it faces increasing competition from Target Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc .