Albertsons Scheduled to Buy Rite Aid

Albertsons continues to grow! The company announced their plans to purchase the drugstore chain Rite-Aid, in an effort to become a 'leader in food, health and wellness. According to the Idaho Statesman, Albertsons is planning to purchase Rite-Aid's 2,500 remaining stores, half of which have already been remodeled to expand pharmacy services and more health products. Some of their locations even have walk-in clinics that can deal with cases of the flu, sinus infections and other relatively minor complaints. As part of the purchase, Albertsons will re-brand their pharmacies as 'Rite-Aid' to keep all of the pharmacies uniform.

So how is Albertsons going to pay for the big merger? They're willing to offer either a share of its stock and $1.83 in cash or slightly more than a share for every 10 shares of Rite-Aid. The grocer did not disclose a deal value. But it said the combined company would bring in about $83 billion in annual revenue.

The deal could go through in the second half of the year, but it's still pending approval from regulators and Rite-Aid shareholders. Shares of Rite-Aid Corp actually went up four percent in today's trading.