Rite Aid is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure more than $3.3 billion in long-term debt, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first broke the news. The bankruptcy filing would also enable the company to address lawsuits alleging it unlawfully filled hundreds of thousands of opioid prescriptions, Retail Dive said in its coverage of the story.
Advisers to the pharmacy chain – which operates about 2150 stores in the West, Midwest and Northeast U.S., according to data firm ScrapeHero – are working on a restructuring plan ahead of the filing, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. In a statement to Retail Dive, Rite Aid said, “We do not comment on rumors and speculation.”
The WSJ noted that Rite Aid hasn’t yet agreed on a settlement that it knowingly oversupplied prescription painkillers. A bankruptcy filing would pause the federal, state and local claims against the retailer. It would also likely consolidate the thousands of claims against the company and allow it to resolve them in one place.