The distinction matters to creditors, landlords, suppliers, employees, prescription customers, investors and restructuring professionals. Each group faces different deadlines and different recovery odds.
This guide covers what drove the distress, the milestones in both cases, financing and asset sales, stakeholder implications, and how to verify current docket activity.
Key Takeaways
- Case one restructured Rite Aid and ended in emergence; case two sold assets and wound down.
- Restrictive vendor terms, thinner inventory, falling sales and a shrinking borrowing base fed one another after emergence.
- Closing stores doesn't close a case; claims, trusts and litigation continue.
- Verify every date, amount and status against the live docket.
What Led to Rite Aid's Chapter 11 Cases?
The 2023 filing
Rite Aid's first-day declaration described a large retail pharmacy business. At filing it reported 2,111 stores in 17 states, more than 45,000 employees, over $24 billion in fiscal 2023 revenue and nearly 200 million annual prescriptions. Through Elixir, its pharmacy benefit manager, it served more than one million members.
The pressures were heavy:
- About $4.0 billion in funded debt and roughly $200 million in annual interest
- $524 million in liquidity at filing
- Inflation, higher labor costs and unprofitable stores
- About $80 million a year in "dead rent" on already-closed stores
- More than 1,600 opioid-related lawsuits
That last figure counts lawsuits and allegations. It is not a count of allowed claims or adjudicated liability. A separate settlement with the federal government provided $7.5 million in cash and an allowed $401.8 million general unsecured claim.
Earlier deals
Walgreens' proposed $17.2 billion acquisition never closed as proposed. Rite Aid instead sold a subset of stores to Walgreens, closing in March 2018. A later merger with Albertsons was announced and then terminated. Elixir Solutions was sold to MedImpact in February 2024 for approximately $576.5 million.
Why it failed after emergence
The second-case declaration lays out a cycle:
- About 40% of front-end vendors kept restrictive payment terms after emergence, in some cases cash on delivery
- Restricted terms limited inventory
- Less inventory meant fewer high-margin front-end sales and a smaller borrowing base
- That cut borrowing capacity and made replenishment harder still
Day-to-day liquidity depended on continued asset-based loan borrowings.
The First Chapter 11 Case: Restructuring and Emergence
Case basics
Rite Aid Corporation and affiliates filed on October 15, 2023 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, Case No. 23-18993 (MBK), before Chief Judge Michael B. Kaplan. Elixir entities were debtors; Elixir Insurance was excluded.
Financing and committee
Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing is new credit that lets a company keep operating during the case, and lenders typically get priority repayment. Rite Aid announced a $3.45 billion DIP commitment (the committed ceiling, not necessarily the amount drawn). First-day filings also sought permission to use cash collateral, meaning cash that secured lenders have a lien on.
The U.S. Trustee appointed the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on November 2, 2023 to negotiate for unsecured creditors as a group.
Plan and emergence
The plan was confirmed August 16, 2024 and took effect August 30, 2024. Key changes:
- Existing common shares were cancelled
- Ownership moved to certain creditors and Rite Aid became private
- Roughly $2.5 billion in exit financing was announced
- Matt Schroeder succeeded Jeffrey Stein as CEO
- Elixir was sold to MedImpact
Opioid claims ran through a separate Rite Aid PI Trust. Its general proof-of-claim deadline was January 12, 2024, and the trust set its own personal-injury deadline of November 18, 2024. General unsecured holders received GUC Equity Trust and Litigation Trust interests; the plan guaranteed no fixed cash recovery.
Why emergence didn't stick
The restructuring cut debt but didn't fix the operating loop. Vendor credit stayed tight, inventory stayed thin, and liquidity depended on a borrowing base that shrank with inventory. The second filing came about eight months after emergence.
The Second Chapter 11 Case: Asset Sales and Liquidation
What "Chapter 22" means
"Chapter 22" is slang for a second Chapter 11 filing. It is not a Bankruptcy Code chapter. New Rite Aid, LLC and 117 subsidiaries filed on May 5, 2025 in the same court, Case No. 25-14861 (MBK), again before Judge Kaplan. The stated purpose was a sale process for prescriptions, pharmacy and front-end inventory and other assets.
DIP financing
The July 10, 2025 final DIP order authorized a $1.94 billion senior secured priming asset-based facility: a $1.70 billion revolver and a $240 million FILO facility. It also included roll-up treatment, where prepetition debt gets folded into the new facility. Roll-up amounts can change, so verify the order and current balances before relying on a specific figure.
Section 363 sales
Section 363 lets a debtor sell assets, often free and clear of other interests. Bidding procedures were approved May 7, 2025. The pharmacy-asset auction was adjourned, and a remaining-asset process followed with a July 22 auction and July 30 sale hearing schedule.
Confirmed buyers include:
- CVS: completed the purchase of 63 former Rite Aid and Bartell stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, plus prescription files from 626 pharmacies in 15 states, on October 15, 2025
- Hilrod Holdings: bought the Thrifty ice-cream line for $19.3 million
This is not an exhaustive buyer list. Sale orders on the docket identify additional purchasers.
Customers and employees
CVS said it serves more than nine million former Rite Aid and Bartell patients. Albertsons invited Rite Aid customers to transfer prescriptions and Rite Aid employees to apply for openings. That was outreach, not proof it acquired assets. Public filings do not establish a final store-closure count, rejected-lease count or job-loss total.
Plan, trust and open docket
- Plan filed September 3, 2025; confirmed November 26; effective December 31, 2025
- Eric Kaup serves as RAD Liquidating Trustee, handling wind-down and claims administration
- The confirmation notice references discharge, release, exculpation and injunction provisions, whose scope is set by the plan and order
- A proposed disclosure-statement class for general unsecured claims received no distribution under that draft; final treatment is set by the confirmed plan
A December 30, 2025 order closed all debtor cases except Lakehurst and Broadway Corporation (Case No. 25-14831), which stays open until a final decree. That case remains subject to further docket activity until a final decree is entered.
What the Cases Mean for Stakeholders
Terms that drive outcomes:
- Secured claim: backed by collateral, and only up to the collateral's value
- Priority claim: paid ahead of general unsecured claims under statutory order
- Administrative claim: post-filing costs of running the estate
- Executory contract: an agreement with obligations remaining on both sides; a debtor can assume or reject it
- Lease rejection: a breach, with landlord damages limited by Section 502(b)(6)
- Bar date: the court-set deadline to file a proof of claim
- Omnibus objection: one filing challenging many claims; it isn't a final ruling
By stakeholder
| Stakeholder | What to watch |
|---|---|
| Secured lenders | DIP and roll-up terms, collateral value |
| Unsecured creditors | Plan class treatment, claim objections, trust notices |
| Landlords | Lease rejection orders, damages caps |
| Trade suppliers | Bar dates, administrative-claim status |
| Employees | Closure notices, final pay and benefits notices |
| Equity holders | 2023 cancellation of common shares |
| Customers and prescription holders | Acquirer notices on file transfers |
| Litigation claimants | PI Trust procedures and deadlines |
The 2023 general bar date was January 12, 2024, with governmental claims due April 12, 2024. For 2025, the claims page listed the general bar date as "TBD," so confirm the live deadline on the official claims page or docket.
This article is general educational information, not legal, financial, medical, prescription-transfer or claims-filing advice. Rely on official notices and qualified professionals for case-specific decisions.
How to Track Rite Aid and Other Chapter 11 Cases
A practical workflow
- Find the right case. Search PACER by court and number: D.N.J. 23-18993, 25-14861 and 25-14831.
- Open the claims-agent site. Kroll hosts both: restructuring.ra.kroll.com/RiteAid/ and restructuring.ra.kroll.com/RiteAid2025/.
- Read the first-day declaration and motions. They explain causes and requested relief.
- Follow financing and sale orders. These show who funded the case and who bought what.
- Track the plan. Review the disclosure statement, confirmation order, effective-date notice and trust reports.
- Watch the post-confirmation docket. Distributions and objections often run for months or years.
Primary versus secondary sources
Court orders and filings control over press releases and news summaries. When dates or amounts conflict, check whether the figures refer to different stages, such as the 625 pharmacies in CVS's court-approval announcement versus the 626 in its completion release. Also confirm the debtor entity, since 117 affiliates filed.
Where BankruptcyData fits
For professionals tracking many cases, BankruptcyData is a research and monitoring resource. It covers filings, docket activity, DIP financing, asset sales, plans, stakeholders, advisors, timelines and outcomes across U.S. Chapter 11 cases, with more than 600,000 records over 45 years.
It offers platform access, historical case research, licensed datasets, API integrations and an MCP server for AI workflows. It suits law firms, investors, advisors, credit teams and researchers. BankruptcyData is not a legal advisor or court-filing service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will my prescriptions go when Rite Aid closes?
Files may have been transferred to acquirers such as CVS, and Albertsons invited customers to transfer prescriptions. Confirm your pharmacy's status through official notices, the acquiring pharmacy or your prescriber.
Why am I getting mail from Kroll Restructuring Administration?
Kroll is the claims and noticing agent for the Rite Aid cases. Read the notice for claim details and deadlines, and verify it through the official case website and docket before acting or paying anything.
What is the current status of the Rite Aid data breach settlement?
It is separate from the bankruptcy. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania approved a $6.8 million cash settlement plus injunctive relief on July 30, 2025, and the claim deadline was July 7, 2025. Check the court order and settlement website.
Why did Rite Aid file for Chapter 11 twice?
The first case restructured debt and litigation liabilities. After emergence, restrictive vendor terms, lower inventory, a shrinking borrowing base and weak liquidity led to the 2025 sale and wind-down case.
What happened to Rite Aid's creditors and unsecured claims?
Treatment depends on priority, collateral, plan class, objections and available proceeds. Check the confirmed plan, the claims agent and liquidating-trust notices for your claim.
