PHILADELPHIA — Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has received financial commitments totaling roughly $3.4 billion from lenders to support business operations as the company works to restructure its debt. The Philadelphia-based pharmacy and convenience store chain did not say whether it would immediately close any stores as a direct result of this filing, just that it would continue “assessing its footprint and closing underperforming stores.” However, in September, The Wall Street Journal reported that Rite Aid had proposed to its creditors a restructuring and rightsizing plan that would involve closing 400 to 500 of its 2,100 or so stores nationwide. The bankruptcy filing has long been expected within the industry, as Rite Aid’s position has grown more precarious in the wake of numerous lawsuits alleging the pharmacy’s role in supplying opioid drugs that contributed to overdose deaths. That legal activity reached its crescendo earlier this year when the U.S. Justice Department formally lodged a complaint against Rite Aid. According to CNN, the government alleged at that time that Rite Aid had “knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances.” According to CNBC, Rite Aid ended its most recent fiscal quarter on June 3 …
