Rite Aid to close 53 more stores amid bankruptcy proceedings
Additional Rite Aid store closings detailed in court documents ahead of bondholders' vote, restructuring approval
Rite Aid is shuttering 53 additional stores in nine states across the U.S. as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings, according to recent court filings.
Stores are closing in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
According to Reuters, Rite Aid received permission from a bankruptcy judge on March 28 to begin voting on a bankruptcy restructuring plan that would turn over most of the company's equity to its bondholders while still leaving open the possibility of a sale.
The company filed for bankruptcy in October in an attempt to address high debt. The filing aimed at shutting down poor performing locations and selling off "non-core business units," Reuters reported.
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A shopper leaves a Rite Aid store in the Crown Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Oct. 16, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The initial list of store closures stood at 154 and has continued to grow throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.
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Rite Aid has denied any wrongdoing, but is also still finalizing some settlements considered key to the restructuring process, including an agreement related to a Justice Department probe of the pharmacy's opioid sales, according to Reuters.
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But lawyers for the company said it is ready to solicit votes from bondholders, who are the critical voting class in its bankruptcy.
No other group will be entitled to vote in Rite Aid's bankruptcy, and the bondholders' votes are due Monday.
Customers shop inside a Rite Aid store in New York on Oct. 16, 2023. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A Rite Aid spokesperson said via email to FOX Business the company does not provide the media with a list of stores slated to close, but "we notified the court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance."
A woman shops inside a Rite Aid store underneath a DeepCam security camera in New York City on June 25, 2020. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
The court filings did not give a timetable for the closures, according to WJW-TV.
Rite Aid expects to seek final court approval of its restructuring on April 22. It received bankruptcy court approval to sell its pharmacy benefit company, Elixir, in January.
Rite Aid's first full-service pharmacy opened in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, according to the company's website. It now operates roughly 1,700 retail pharmacy locations in 16 states with a workforce of 45,000.
Reuters contributed to this report.