WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) (“Rite Aid” or the “Company”) announced Oct. 15 it has reached an agreement in principle with certain of its senior secured noteholders on the terms of a financial restructuring plan that will allow the Company to accelerate its ongoing business transformation.
Implementing the contemplated restructuring plan will reduce the Company’s debt, increase its financial flexibility and enable it to execute on key initiatives. In connection with this, Rite Aid has initiated a voluntary court-supervised process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Rite Aid is continuing to deliver healthcare products and services across its retail and online platforms for the nearly one million customers it serves daily.
The court-supervised process provides an orderly and efficient forum for Rite Aid to:
- Finalize and build consensus for the agreement in principle the Company has reached with certain of its senior secured noteholders
- Accelerate the Company’s store footprint optimization plan
- Implement a proposed transaction under which MedImpact would acquire Elixir Solutions, subject to the outcome of a court-approved marketing process
- Access additional liquidity
- Resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner.
In connection with this process, Rite Aid has received a commitment for $3.45 billion in new financing from certain of its lenders. This financing is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support the Company throughout this process.
Also, Rite Aid announced the appointment of Jeffrey S. Stein as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. He succeeds Elizabeth (“Busy”) Burr, who has served as Interim CEO since January 2023. Ms. Burr will continue in her role as a Director on the Company’s Board.
Stein said, “Rite Aid has served customers and communities across our country for more than 60 years, and the important actions we are taking today will enable us to move ahead as a stronger company. With the support of our lenders, we look forward to strengthening our financial foundation, advancing our transformation initiatives and accelerating the execution of our turnaround strategy. In doing so, we will be even better able to deliver the healthcare products and services our customers and their families rely on – now and into the future.”
Stein continued, “We remain focused on serving our customers and communities, and we are grateful that they continue to choose our stores and pharmacies for their healthcare needs. We thank our associates for their ongoing hard work and dedication, and we extend our gratitude to our partners, suppliers and vendors for their continued support.”
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 10-17-2023 at 12 p.m.
2023 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2023)
Total Mass Shootings: 624
Total Dead: 737
Total Wounded: 2488
Shootings Per Day: 2.15
Days Reached in Year 2023 as of Oct. 17: 290
WORLD
EARTHQUAKES CRIPPLING AFGHANISTAN
A powerful earthquake struck western Afghanistan again on Oct. 15, making it the fourth to hit the impoverished region since Oct. 7, causing more suffering for families left with little to survive on as the hard winter approaches, UN agencies have reported.
The latest, 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck areas northeast of Herat city Sunday morning local time.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of Monday evening local time, two people were reported to have been killed and over 150 injured in the latest quake.
In total, about 1,500 people have died, and a further 2,000 injured.
Daniel Peter Endres, acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, described the situation there as “a race against time” for aid organizations to deliver assistance before the onset of winter.
“These earthquakes have struck some of the most vulnerable communities in Afghanistan, they have already been grappling with decades of conflicts and under development,” he told journalists in New York, via video link.
“The affected communities have little resilience to cope with the multiple and simultaneous shocks, and especially with the cold winter coming, when households have limited food resources and are most constrained in capacity.”
Nightly temperatures have dipped considerably, he said, noting that many whose homes were damaged are sleeping outside, afraid their dwellings might collapse completely.
He mentioned that local communities and aid organizations are helping those in need by providing food and non-food relief items, including tents, blankets and heating supplies. However, more help is needed.
The humanitarian community in Afghanistan has created an initial response plan for recovery, focusing on 114,000 people whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged. The plan may be revised as necessary.
Mr. Endres said the crisis response will be absorbed within the 2023 Afghanistan Response Plan, which is itself severely underfunded.
