Read all about it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/bu...in&oref=slogin

Rite Aid, the drugstore chain, said today that it had agreed to buy two competing chains, Brooks and Eckerd, for $2.55 billion in cash and stock, putting it within striking distance of its two largest rivals, Walgreen and CVS.

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Yay!!!!
Heard that in NPR this morning!
Welcome Rite-Aid to NC!!!

We too want mo' freebies

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Originally Posted by OnePenny

Yay!!!!
Heard that in NPR this morning!
Welcome Rite-Aid to NC!!!

We too want mo' freebies

I want my eckerds though

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I'm listening to there stockholder meeting right now. Stores will have an automatic dispensing system. Closing should be 4th quarter this year. Eckerd stores should begin transfering in march 2007. The switch will be overnight. They will feature "net synergie" older stores with newer eckerd/brooks stores will be closed. Shares should go down 3-7 cents this year but up 15 cents. Advertising expenses are expected to go up however they plan on cutting double ads? (I don't know what that means) 4 Phase intigration plan, communication and training are priority one. EAch store will go through an annalysis in phase one, this stage will be finished before end quarter this year. All eckerds will have to go through a supply chain upgrade this should take 7-9 months. Remerchandising will occur in phases 3 and 2 this should take 12 months. Remodling will take several years but will begin within one year. 500 million dollars will be spent in the first 12 months with 500 million more being spent in over 4 years.

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http://www.jeancoutu.com/finance/english/

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Originally Posted by BillyP

I want my eckerds though

Sorry for those who have both Eckerds/Brooks and Rite-Aid.
As we all are frustated with Eckerds rebates (very very few items to take advantage of), and R-A offers more, we all are happy to have R-A at our places.

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Good ridance Eckerds!!!!! Big pain in the butt stores. I have gotten some good deals there, but they are few and far between. I'd much rather have a Rite Aid. Especially with their rebate system. Ten times better than Eckerd's one!

I do hope buying the Eckerds stores doesn't end up pulling Rite Aid down. I've had so many of my favorite stores go out of business because they bought out other stores and it killed them in the end.

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Originally Posted by sweetiris

Good ridance Eckerds!!!!! Big pain in the butt stores. I have gotten some good deals there, but they are few and far between. I'd much rather have a Rite Aid. Especially with their rebate system. Ten times better than Eckerd's one!

I do hope buying the Eckerds stores doesn't end up pulling Rite Aid down. I've had so many of my favorite stores go out of business because they bought out other stores and it killed them in the end.

I feel the same way. Eckerds pricing on everyday things is crazy high, although I think it did improve slightly compared to the JC Penney ownership. All their stores around here are OLD, out of date, and never busy (just about all of them former Thrift Drug stores, before they became Eckerd). Rite Aid stores were the same if not worse but have gotten better and they just started to build new locations. I also hope it doesnt pull Rite Aid down.

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RITE AID IN ECKERD DEAL

By Zachery Kouwe
Source: NY Daily news

Drug store giant Rite Aid is in the final stages of a deal to buy Eckerd Drugs for about $3.4 billon – a combination that would put the Pennsylvania-based chain much closer to its two larger rivals, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Sources said leveraged-buyout shop Leonard Green & Partners, which owns nearly 8 percent of Rite Aid may try to take the company private after the merger. Glenview Capital management also owns about 5 percent of Rite Aid.
Rite Aid plans pay about $1.5 billon in cash and about $1.1 billon in stock for Eckerd. Rite Aid will also assume about $850 million in debt, sources said.
Jonathan Sokoloff, a partner at Leonard Green who sits on Rite Aid’s board, did not return an email for comment.
Canadian pharmacy conglomerate Jean Coutu Group owns the Eckerd business, which it purchased from department store J.C. Penney in 2004 for about $2.4 billon in cash. Coutu is expected to own about 30 percent of the combined company after the deal closes, sources said.
The acquisition of Eckerd, which has stores in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, would give Rite Aid a total of 5,177 stores, putting them within striking distance of the No. 2 chain Walgreens, which has 5, 401. CVS would still lead the drug store category with 6,171 stores.
Trade publication drug Store News reported the merger, which has been rumored for several months, on its Web site yesterday.
The combined company would be a national powerhouse, bringing in about $25.5 billon of sales annually from selling everything from prescription drugs to toothpaste. Rite Aid chief Mary Sammons hinted at the company’s acquisition at the company’s annual meeting in June.
“We remain committed to our goal of opening 800 to 1,000 new and relocated stores by 2010,” Sammons said.
Sjares of Rite Aid rose 7.4 percent yesterday to close at $4.68.

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IMO Eckerd's rebate program stinks. I am happy that the Eckerd 3 blocks from my house which I hardly ever go into will be my beloved Riteaid soon. They plan on 1000 new Riteaids! More FARs for everyone!

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