Grocery chain Albertsons plans to buy the rest of Rite Aid that is not being sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The deal comes as retailers across the U.S. are scrambling to remain competitive in a changing consumer shopping landscape.
Here are eight things to know.
1. Rite Aid, the third-largest U.S. drugstore chain, has a market value of about $2.3 billion. It is in the process of selling 1,932 of its stores to Walgreens.
2. The Albertsons-Rite Aid deal would create a company with revenue exceeding $83 billion. Following the proposed cash-and-stock deal, Albertsons shareholders would hold roughly 71 percent of the combined company, leaving Rite Aid investors with approximately 29 percent.
3. If the deal is approved, the combined company will have about 4,900 locations, 4,360 pharmacies and 320 clinics across 38 states and Washington, D.C., according to CNBC.
4. The deal would allow Albertsons, which owns Safeway and 19 other supermarket chains, to go public after more than 10 years of private-equity ownership. In 2015, Albertsons proposed going public, but decided against making the move following a poor profit forecast by rival Walmart.
5. Executives from both parties said the merger is the best way to remain competitive in a business threatened by Amazon and the new deals sought by Walmart, CVS and Walgreens.
6. Upon deal approval, Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley will become CEO of the combined company, and Albertsons Chairman and CEO Bob Miller will be chairman.
7. The deal follows Rite Aid's failed attempt to sell all of its stores to Walgreens. The Federal Trade Commission blocked the full sale, arguing it broke antitrust laws. Walgreens tweaked the deal and received FTC approval Sept. 19, 2017, after nearly two years of negotiations.
8. The Albertsons-Rite Aid deal is subject to regulatory approval. However, Mr. Standley said he learned from the failed Walgreens deal and believes the Albertsons-Rite Aid transaction wouldn't stifle competition.