Walgreens Boots Alliance has further lowered its stake in Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corp, by selling shares worth about $674 million, the U.S. drugstore chain said on Thursday.

After the share repurchase, Walgreens now owns approximately 15% in drug distributor Cencora, it said, adding that it would use the proceeds to pay down debt. Walgreens still remains Cencora's largest shareholder.

AmerisourceBergen disclosed plans early this year to rename itself as Cencora in a bid to expand internationally beyond drug distribution. The company adopted the name in the second half of 2023.

Walgreens has been reducing its stake in Cencora over time. Walgreens sold some shares of Cencora for proceeds of about $1.85 billion in August.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)