PROVIDENCE – CVS Health Corp. is seeking to buy 64 Rite-Aid stores in the Pacific Northwest, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Woonsocket-based CVS, which runs one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, has agreed to acquire and operate 64 Rite Aid stores across Washington, Oregon and Idaho along with patient prescription information pharmacies in 15 states, CVS said in a statement to Bloomberg.
Rite-Aid, based in Pennsylvania, is planning to liquidate its assets and go out of business after undergoing its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in nine months.
“We are not going to emerge from bankruptcy,” Rite Aid CEO Matthew Schroeder said to employees Thursday, according to the Bloomberg report. “Once our assets are sold, Rite Aid will no longer exist.”
The deal with CVS is subject to bankruptcy court approval on other conditions.
According to the report, the bankruptcy court will hold a hearing on the sale process on May 21 and on June 6, the court will hold a hearing on Rite Aid’s plan for financing while it winds down the company, Schroeder told employees.
Rite Aid stores will remain open and keep filling prescriptions and providing vaccines during the sale process.
Schroeder also told employees Rite Aid has received multiple bids on some of its pharmacy assets, such as patient data and inventory, from Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Albertsons Cos., Kroger Co., Giant Eagle Inc. and others, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg News. The potential buyers are interested in continuing to employ Rite Aid workers, he said.
On March 10, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault said there are plans to open 12 or more locations nationwide over the next year that will be less than half the size of their current retail sites. The locations of the new pharmacy-only locations were not disclosed.
CVS still plans to open traditional pharmacy locations with full front-end retail space, Thibault said. The company has opened 100 stores between 2022 and 2024 and has plans to add nearly 30 locations, including those inside Target stores, in 2025. That’s in addition to the small-format pharmacies, she said.
In the first quarter of 2025, CVS Health booked adjusted earnings of $2.25 per share as the company’s profit soared 60% to $1.78 billion in the year’s first quarter. Total revenue climbed 7% to $94.59 billion.
For the full year, CVS Health now expects adjusted earnings to range from $6 to $6.20 per share.
On Feb 4, CVS filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice with R.I. Department of Labor and Training announcing it was shedding 38 jobs. Of the 38 employees, 23 work at CVS corporate headquarters in Woonsocket and the remaining 15 work remotely but report to someone who is based in Rhode Island.
The layoffs will take place on June 7.
This brings the number of workers with Rhode Island ties affected by CVS’ layoff plans to 1,466, including 188 Rhode Island residents.
