Rite Aid Files for Second Bankruptcy in Two Years as Debt Soars to $2.5 Billion

Struggling pharmacy chain Rite Aid is once again facing money woes, forcing the company to file for bankruptcy again.

According to a court filing, the company filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in just two years. The company “was unable to secure additional capital from lenders that was needed to continue operating the business,” Bloomberg reported, citing a letter from CEO Matthew Schroeder.

Rite Aid used its 2023 bankruptcy to cut $2 billion in debt, shut hundreds of stores, sell its pharmacy benefit company Elixir, and negotiate settlements with creditors, including McKesson. That process also resolved lawsuits “alleging that Rite Aid ignored red flags when filling suspicious prescriptions for addictive opioid pain drugs.”

But when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2024 as a private company owned by lenders, it still had $2.5 billion in debt. Now, it estimates its assets and liabilities fall in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.

The letter from Schroeder also noted that Rite Aid intends “to reduce its workforce at its corporate offices in Pennsylvania.” Once operating around 2,000 pharmacies in 2023, the chain is now down to just 1,250 locations, with major cuts in states like Ohio and Michigan.

Pharmacy chains including Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS have struggled as “falling drug margins and competition from Walmart and Amazon” trigger store closures. Walgreens, also reeling, recently agreed to a $10 billion buyout by Sycamore Partners, a steep fall from its $100 billion valuation just ten years ago.