Rite Aid Files for Bankruptcy Due to Debt and Competition, Plans to Keep Stores Open

Rite Aid, one of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains, filed for bankruptcy due to debt, declining sales, and over 1,000 lawsuits over filling illegal opioid prescriptions.

The company has raised $3.45 billion to fund operations during bankruptcy, appointed a new CEO, and plans to continue operating stores.

Rite Aid faces competition from larger chains like CVS and Walgreens, as well as Amazon, leading to closing hundreds of stores.

The company tried mergers with Walgreens and Albertsons in recent years, but both deals fell through.

Rite Aid grew quickly after its founding in the 1960s to become the nation's largest drugstore chain, but was embroiled in an accounting fraud scandal in the 1990s.