On May 21, a federal judge approved Rite Aid's bankruptcy plan to close stores and sell most of its pharmacy assets to other national chains, according to court documents reviewed by Becker's.
CVS, Walgreens, and grocery store chains Albertsons, Kroger, Giant Eagle and others have entered into separate transactions to buy Rite Aid's assets, including prescription services and 810 of its 1,240 pharmacy locations.
CVS is the largest potential buyer, as it plans to take over prescriptions at 650 Rite Aid pharmacies and acquire 64 stores, according to Reuters. Rite Aid has said all locations will remain open with no interruption to prescription services.
In October 2023, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before emerging from it in September 2024. During that period, Rite Aid cut $2 billion in debt, sold its pharmacy benefit manager company Elixir, closed more than 500 stores and received about $2.5 billion in exit financing.
After declining pharmacy sales, however, the company initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings again in May 2025.