Alberstons and Rite Aid announce merger

On Feb. 20, Albertsons Companies (Albertsons) and Rite Aid Corporation (Rite Aid) announced a definitive merger agreement. The transaction is expected to generate revenues of $83 billion and create incremental revenue opportunities of more than $3.6 billion.

As part of the agreement, Albertsons will purchase the remnants of Rite Aid that isn’t being sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance. The integrated company will operate approximately 4,900 locations, 4,350 pharmacy counters and 320 clinics across 38 states and Washington, D.C., serving more than 40 million customers a week. Most Albertsons pharmacies will be rebranded as Rite Aid, and the company will continue to operate Rite Aid stand-alone pharmacies.

Current Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley will become CEO of the combined company, with current Albertsons Chairman and CEO Bob Miller serving as Chairman.

“This powerful combination enables us to become a truly differentiated leader in delivering value, choice and flexibility to meet customers’ evolving food, health and wellness needs,” said Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley.

“We have always put our customers first, and our combination with Rite Aid will enable us to even better serve the valuable pharmacy customer by providing a fully integrated one-stop-shop for our customers’ food, health and wellness needs,” said Bob Miller, Albertsons Chairman and CEO.

At the end of the third quarter, Rite Aid had about 4,400 locations after transferring a small number of stores to Walgreens after the federal government blocked their planned complete merger on anti-trust grounds. On Feb. 8, Rite Aid transferred about 1,114 stores to Walgreens.