FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs distributor Celesio (>> Celesio AG) has agreed to buy Sainsbury’s (>> J Sainsbury plc) pharmacy business for 125 million pounds via its British chain LloydsPharmacy.

As part of the deal, LloydsPharmacy will buy 281 pharmacies, most of which are in Sainsbury's stores, Celesio said in a statement on Wednesday.

The pharmacies will be rebranded as LloydsPharmacy, and as many as 2,500 of their workers will be transferred to the new owner.

Sainsbury’s will receive commercial annual rent payments from LloydsPharmacy for each location, said Celesio, which is three-quarters owned by McKesson (>> McKesson Corporation).

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Kirsti Knolle)

Stocks treated in this article : McKesson Corporation, Celesio AG, J Sainsbury plc