NEW YORK: US pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corp. has filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to restructure its financial assets while dealing with high debt and opioid-related lawsuits, reported Xinhua.
The debt-laden company said in a statement late on Sunday that it would close underperforming stores, sell its pharmacy benefit company Elixir and resolve lawsuits over its sale of addictive opioid medications.
Rite Aid has secured an agreement for US$3.45 billion in new financing and debt reduction under the court-supervised process, which is “expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support the company throughout this process,” according to the statement.
Starting in 1962 as a single drugstore in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the company employs around 45,000 people across more than 2,000 locations nationwide.
Rite Aid, one of the largest US pharmacy retailers, has struck in high debt and revenue losses for several years and has had to cut costs to deal with long-standing financial challenges.
It estimated a net loss of US$680 million in the current fiscal year ending next spring.
In addition to billions in debt and slumping sales, Rite Aid has faced over 1,000 federal, state and local lawsuits that claim its pharmacies allegedly filled thousands of illegal prescriptions for painkillers, US media reported.
According to Rite Aid, the company’s stores will continue to fill prescriptions, and customers will still be able to visit its locations or shop online while it goes through its voluntary Chapter 11 process. -BERNAMA-XINHUA
