Walgreen to Buy Stake in Alliance Boots: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include Walgreen(WAG) as the pharmacy chain is set to buy a 45% stake in Alliance Boots for $6.7 billion in cash and stock.

The resulting combined company will be the largest buyer of prescription drugs in the world with more than 370 distribution centers delivering to 21 countries. Walgreen has the option to buy the remainder of Alliance Boots in the next three years. The company said the deal will substantially add to earnings per share in the first year.

Private-equity firm KKR will receive $2 billion in cash and stock and will be given a seat on Walgreen's board. The firm invested $2.45 billion in Alliance Boots in 2007.

Walgreen reported third-quarter earnings of $537 million, or 62 cents a share. Excluding costs related to the deal, Walgreen earned 63 cents a share, compared to $603 million, or 65 cents per share a year earlier.

Julius Baer is trending upon announcing that it is in talks to purchase Bank of America's(BAC) Merrill Lynch wealth management business.

Julius Baer said the talks concern the non-U.S. division of the business and are in early stages. Reports have indicated the deal could be worth up to $2 billion.

Bank of America reportedly put the business up for sale in April as it was not generating enough income.

Julius Baer warned in May that profitability and private banking margins were slipping as investors' appetite for risk declined. The Swiss private bank has indicated its desire to grow and have a role in consolidating the industry.

U.S. authorities are currently investigating the bank and 10 others for possibly aiding Americans in tax evasion.

Facebook(FB) is another popular search. The social networking giant has purchased Israeli facial recognition technology start-up Face.com. The exact terms of the deal are unknown.

Face.com's technology scans photos uploaded to Facebook and suggests friends for the user to tag. Facebook said the acquisition does not mean there will necessarily be changes to the current face detection and tagging method used on the site.

Face.com is an 11-employee start-up from Tel Aviv. It launched its first product in 2009.