Empire Company Limited reaches agreement to acquire nine Morelli's pharmacies in Ontario

Each pharmacy to be rebranded as Longo's Pharmacy and integrated into Sobeys National Pharmacy operations

STELLARTON, NS, Aug. 18, 2026 /CNW/ -- Empire Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc. ("Empire" or the "Company") (TSX: EMP.A) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire nine Morelli's pharmacies co-located in Longo's grocery stores in Ontario. Each of the nine pharmacies will be integrated into Sobeys National Pharmacy operations and will be rebranded as a Longo's Pharmacy. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of Ontario College of Pharmacists regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2027.

Since being founded by Gerry Morelli in 1990, Morelli's Pharmacy has been a trusted full-service pharmacy offering both dispensing and clinical services to patients throughout the GTA and Hamilton. The first Morelli's inside a Longo's grocery store was opened in 2005, after which eight additional in-store pharmacies were opened at Longo's locations.

"Morelli's has been a vital part of our Longo's community for decades, providing expert pharmacy services and dispensing," said Deb Craven, President, Longo's. "We will continue to offer our guests and patients the same care and trust that Morelli's is known for, while providing the benefit of Empire's scale, operational expertise and long‑term commitment to advancing pharmacy-led primary care in Canada."

"The acquisition of nine Morelli's pharmacies provides Empire with a strategic opportunity to grow the Ontario pharmacy network with an established and trusted partner already embedded in Longo's day-to-day operations," said Doug Nathanson, General Counsel and Chief Pharmacy & Development Officer. "The conversion to Longo's Pharmacy ensures the continuity of exceptional patient and customer service, while also providing the opportunity for Empire to diversify its brand offering to new patients and Longo's guests."

ABOUT EMPIRE

Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A) is a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's key businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate. With approximately $32 billion in annual sales and $17 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 130,000 people.

Additional financial information relating to Empire, including the Company's Annual Information Form, can be found on the Company's website at www.empireco.ca or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

ABOUT LONGO'S

Longo's is a family-operated Canadian organization that started in 1956 when three brothers, Tommy, Joe and Gus opened their first fruit market. What began as a small family-run store has since grown into a company that operates 44 stores in communities across Toronto and the GTA. Today, Longo's maintains the same family-based values as it did almost 70 years ago, putting Family Standards at the heart of everything they do. Longo's is proud to serve their Guests the quality standard of food they believe every family deserves, and to give back to the communities they operate in. For more information, please visit Longos.com or follow @LongosMarkets on Instagram and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Information

This document contains a forward-looking statement which is presented for the purpose of assisting the reader to contextualize the Company's financial position and understand management's expectations regarding the Company's strategic priorities, objectives and plans. This forward-looking statement may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are identified by words or phrases such as "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "could", "may", "plans", "predicts", "projects", "will", "would", "foresees" and other similar expressions or the negative of these terms. This statement includes those relating to: timing and completion of the acquisition which may be impacted by regulatory approval and closing conditions.

Additional risks are described in detail from time to time in documents filed by the Company with securities regulatory authorities in Canada. By its nature, forward-looking information requires the Company to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made.

For more information on risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may impact the Company's forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the "Risk Management" section of the fiscal 2026 annual Management's Discussion and Analysis.

SOURCE Empire Company Limited

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