...Rite Aid Corporation's rating incorporates recent weakening in drug retail results and concerns regarding the company's ability to stabilize pro forma EBITDA declines following the sale of 1,932 stores, or 43% of stores, located mostly in the eastern U.S., and three distribution centers to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (BBB/Stable) for $4.38 billion, or around 16.0x TTM EBITDA. Declining operating results, including average pharmacy comparable store sales (comps) declines of around 4.5% over the past five quarters, have led to expectations of limited FCF generation and high adjusted leverage of around 7.0x, even after more than $4.00 billion of debt paydown using sale proceeds....
