Deals
Rite Aid Drops After Failed Merger Narrows Drugstore Options
- Deal’s death is blow as rivals revamp, bigger competitors lurk
- Scratched transaction had been opposed by top proxy advisers
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Rite Aid Corp. shares sank after the drugstore operator’s proposed merger with Albertsons Cos. was called off, leaving the company with dwindling options amid a rapid transformation of the pharmacy business.
The collapse of the deal is the second time an attempt to combine with a larger retailer has failed for Rite Aid, after its proposed merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. last year fell apart. The company will now be forced to search for answers while its bigger rivals overhaul their business models amid wider changes in the health-care system. Additionally, deep-pocketed new competitors including Amazon.com Inc. are pushing into the pharmacy business.