Rite Aid to be purchased by Acme owner

By

Albertsons plans to add the Rite Aid name to grocery drug counters. Rite Aid chairman and chief executive John Standley will lead the combined company as CEO. Albertsons chief Bob Miller will become the board chair. (Photo courtesy of WikiCommons)

The owner of Acme, Safety and other grocery chains, Albertsons Cos., is buying Camp Hill-based Rite Aid Corp. despite being saddled with debt.The deal, which values Rite Aid equity at nearly $3 billion, would make Albertsons a public company, using Rite Aid’s New York Stock Exchange listing.

. If the deal is approved by regulators and Rite Aid shareholders, the combined company — a “Food, Health, and Wellness Leader,” Rite Aid says — will operate 4,900 stores, including more than 2,000 stand-alone Rite Aids. Sales would total $83 billion a year, with profits (before interest, taxes, and amortization) of around $3.7 billion, writes Joseph N. DiStefano in the Philadelphia Daily News.

[uam_ad id=”54865″]


The move is the latest convulsion rocking the retail pharmacy business, as more drug-using Americans buy their medicines direct, through online suppliers including Amazon.

Chain pharmacies, including Rite Aid, grew by underpricing the independent pharmacies that were once a fixture on neighborhood Main Streets. But the big chains have also struggled to stay profitable, even after adding groceries, toys, and other consumer goods in stores.

To read the complete story click here.

[uam_ad id=”54875″]

Stay Connected, Stay Informed

Subscribe for great stories in your community!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
MT Yes
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement