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A chorus of opposition from Rite Aid Corp. investors to Albertsons Cos. LLC's bid to buy the company has taken shape the week before the drugstore's shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal.
Some institutional investors, along with proxy advisors Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, have said in recent days that the deal, which would create a company worth about $24 billion, does not represent a good value for Rite Aid shareholders.
Investors in the Camp Hill, Pa.-based company will meet in New York on Aug. 9 for a proxy vote on the deal. Shareholders representing a majority of outstanding shares must vote for the deal in order for it to close.
"This is a no-premium bid," David Tiley, director of conviction equities at Alberta Investment Management Corp., told S&P Global Market Intelligence in an interview before the proxy advisers published their reports. As of March 31, the corporation, which manages government investments in Canada, owned 1.8% of all outstanding shares in Rite Aid, according to S&P Capital IQ -- an investment worth about $37.8 million using the July 31 closing price for the company's stock.
The drug store chain could have secured a higher-value deal, Tiley added, given Amazon.com...