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Rite Aid Was Albertsons's Last Best Hope
There weren't many good options left for shoring up Amazon defenses.
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We will soon have a pharmacy/insurer combination. We may yet get a pharmacy/drug-wholesaler merger. And now we're getting a new union of pharmacies and grocery stores with Albertsons Cos.' purchase of Rite Aid Corp., announced Tuesday morning.
This deal has strategic and financial benefits for Albertsons and helps the grocer avoid a choppy IPO market. But it also gets it deeper into the increasingly tough and competitive pharmacy business.