Rite Aid Falls To Post-Walgreens-Deal Low As Kroger May Not Buy Stores

Is Rite Aid (RAD) the new Twitter (TWTR)? Rite Aid shares fell Wednesday after reports that Kroger (KR) may not buy hundreds of stores that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and Rite Aid need to divest to win regulatory approval for their $17 billion merger.

Rite Aid fell 5.1% to 6.66 on the stock market today, falling intraday to its lowest levels since October 2015, when Walgreens announced its $9-a-share deal for its smaller drugstore rival.

The FTC wants Walgreens and Rite Aid to divest some 650 stores.

Grocery store giant Kroger had been interested, but wanted to close the locations and reopen them in its grocery stores. The FTC wants to preserve the stand-alone drugstores, sources told the New York Post. Later Reuters confirmed that Kroger is uncertain of buying stores due to the FTC's insistence that they remain open.

Rite Aid shares have already been sliding in recent weeks as private equity firms reportedly lost interest.

Walgreens shares fell 1.15%. Walgreens could offer an update on the Rite Aid merger when it reports earnings Thursday morning.

Kroger climbed 1.2%.