“It was always a matter of when, not if, Rite Aid would file for bankruptcy,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a note to investors.
As part of the bankruptcy plan, Rite Aid appointed a new CEO, Jeff Stein, who will also serve as the head of restructuring and a board member.
The government accused Rite Aid of missing “obvious red flags” when it filled the prescriptions for addictive pain killers.
Rite Aid is a distant third-largest nationwide standalone pharmacy chain in the United States — and the seventh largest pharmacy overall, when taking into account big box chains.
Ultimately, in 2017, the companies agreed to a smaller, $4.4 billion deal, in which Walgreens bought just under 2,000 Rite Aid locations, leaving Rite Aid diminished in stature and unable to compete at the scale of its bigger rivals.
Persons:
—, ”, Neil Saunders, GlobalData, Jeff Stein, Stein, “, Aid’s, General Merrick Garland, — CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn, Juliana Liu
Organizations:
New, New York CNN — Rite, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Costco, US Securities and Exchange Commission, ”, Aid, Rite Aid, Solutions, “, Justice, US Justice Department, US Centers for Disease Control, ., United States —
Locations:
New York, United States