CVS finalizes buyout of Rite Aid prescription data, 63 retail stores
CVS Health is expanding its nationwide retail pharmacy business with the purchase of 63 shuttered Rite Aid stores, the company announced on Wednesday. As part of the deal, CVS will also take control over a large portion of prescription data from Rite Aid, said to come from 626 pharmacies in 15 states.
Notably, the buyout was approved by a judge back in May as part of Rite Aid’s bankruptcy liquidation. Other stores and assets were also sold to competitors, including Kroger, Walgreens, Giant Eagle and Albertsons.
During the proceedings, and subsequent shutdown, Rite Aid said it was looking for ways to maintain customer continuity so patients could continue getting their prescriptions without interruption.
Ideally, that’s where the data purchased by CVS will come into play.
“We’re helping maintain and expand access to convenient and trusted pharmacy care across the U.S. and growing our retail footprint and presence in local communities,” Len Shankman, president of pharmacy and consumer wellness at CVS Health, said in a statement. “From our innovative pharmacy care programs to our exclusive store brand products, we look forward to showing Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs patients and customers all that CVS has to offer.”
CVS also confirmed it will hire Rite Aid staff, bringing on board more than 3,500 people who worked in various roles supplying and running retail pharmacy stores. It will need the employees, as CVS is potentially gaining 9 million new customers as a result of its investment in Rite Aid.
The company said it’s already received new prescription filings from Rite Aid customers at half its stores, as many CVS pharmacies were close to former Rite Aid stores—typically within one to three miles. It added that the 63 stores were strategically chosen based on their remoteness to another pharmacy. Those locations will now be re-opened and operated as a CVS.
As part of an effort to help customers “get to know” CVS, the chain said it will be hosting grand opening “block parties” at stores, complete with a DJ and food trucks.
The newly acquired locations are all in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The end of a 60-year legacy
Rite Aid was in business for more than 60 years, founded under the name Thrift D Discount Center in 1962. Its first location was in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1968, it expanded nationwide and went public, at which time it changed its name.
It first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2023, emerging a year later as a private company with a slimmer business and an influx of investor cash. But by May 2025, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 again, announcing it was seeking a buyout.
On Oct. 3, nearly all of its remaining stores officially closed their doors for good. Two locations remained open, one in Washington and one in Oregon. Both are now operated by CVS.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.