Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) announced that it will acquire and rename Brooks and Eckerd drugstore chains, both of which are owned by the same company, Jean Coutu Group of Quebec.
This acquisition would further consolidate this retail pharmacy industry that once featured a half dozen familiar big name chains as well as thousands of now-vanished independent stores around the country, as reported by the WashingtonPost.
Eckerd has 1,521 stores nationally, including 20 in the Washington area, while there are 337 Brooks stores, mostly in New York and New England. All will be rebranded as Rite Aid.
If the deal is approved by regulatory authorities, Rite Aid, now the third-largest drugstore chain, will become the largest chain on the East Coast and move within range of the other two pharmacy giants in size.
It will own 5000 stores nationally versus CVS, which has 5,400 stores and Walgreens, which claims 5,401.
Know More about the pharmaceutical industry at ThePharmVoice.com.
Comment Preview