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NEW YORK — Rite Aid Corp. reportedly is looking to buy prescription files and inventory from in-store pharmacies operated the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., which last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Published reports said that, according to a filing by A&P with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., Rite Aid has agreed to pay about $8 million acquire the script files and pharmacy stock at 12 of the supermarket retailer’s stores slated to be shut.
A&P also has requested from the judge a speedy approval of the sale so that the pharmacy assets retain their value, a Bloomberg report said Saturday. A hearing is slated for Monday. In the filing, A&P indicated that it has fielded bids for pharmacy assets at 22 of the 25 stores already earmarked for closure, Bloomberg reported.
A&P filed for bankruptcy in late July, marking the second time in five years that the food and drug retailer has sought Chapter 11 protection. In announcing the filing, A&P said it had already entered agreements to sell 120 stores for about $600 million and planned to close 25 stores immediately. Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC and Acme Markets are among the buyers of the A&P stores. The remaining stores are slated to be sold or closed.
At the time of the Chapter 11 filing, A&P operated 296 stores under the A&P, Best Cellars, Food Basics, Food Emporium, Pathmark, Superfresh and Waldbaum’s banners in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. About half of the supermarket locations have pharmacies.
