Change of prescription
So 46 Eckerd stores in the Triad are slated to become Rite Aids as part of an estimated $4-billion stock-and-cash acquisition deal that closed today.
What does this mean for consumers? Well, not a lot, right now. Rite Aid Corp. hopes to swap over the branding at its more than 1,850 new stores in 18 states within the next year and a half. The nation's third-largest drugstore chain also said it might put more non-pharmacy items on sale in the newly acquired stores in coming months and could bring in the private label Rite Aid brand.
Customers ages 60 and older also may be able to sign up for a Rite Aid senior-loyalty program of discounts and other offers, the company said Monday.
Regulators have asked Rite Aid to close a handful of stores, and the chain plans to close a couple hundred others in markets where it already has a strong presence.
Rite Aid is paying $2.36 billion in cash and 250 million shares of stock for the country's Eckerd and Brooks stores and six distribution centers, one of which is in Charlotte. Brooks and Eckerd formerly belonged to Jean Coutu Group Inc., a Canadian company that will now be Rite Aid's largest shareholder.
The deal could mean an annual revenue boost of $10 billion for Rite Aid, which held about 3,330 stores and posted annual revenues of $17.5 billion before acquiring Brooks and Eckerd.
Rite Aid anticipates spending more than $1 billion on upgrades for the new stores and distribution centers during the next few years. The company also plans to open nearly 1,000 new or relocated stores during the next five years.