SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, alerts investors of the February 22, 2016 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities fraud class action lawsuit filed against Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) in connection with the proposed acquisition of Rite Aid by Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

If you held RAD securities on October 27, 2015, contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000, emailing RAD@hbsslaw.com or visiting https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/RAD.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and investors have until February 22, 2016 to move the court to participate as a lead plaintiff.

On October 27, 2015, Rite Aid and Walgreens jointly announced that they had entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger pursuant to which Walgreens will purchase Rite Aid for $9.00 per share in cash.  The Proposed Transaction is valued at $17.2 billion.

The filed complaint alleges that in connection with the Proposed Transaction, on November 23, 2015, defendants filed a materially false and misleading preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A with the SEC in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The proxy recommends that Rite Aid shareholders vote in favor of the Proposed Transaction but, according to the complaint, it failed to disclose material information regarding how the board negotiated and approved the deal.  It thus deprives the Company's shareholders of their right to cast an informed vote on the deal. 

According to the complaint, the proxy failed to disclose the following material information, which renders the statements in the proxy false and misleading: (a) the terms of a certain alternate bidder's indications of interest; (b) the nature of the Board's financial advisor's conflict of interest; (c) management's financial forecast; (d) management's alternate forecast; (e) discussions regarding financial benefits to the Board and Rite Aid management; (f) discussions regarding management's equity rollovers; and (g) material metrics and assumptions underlying the financial advisor's valuation analysis.  Without this material information, the Company's shareholders cannot make an informed decision on how to vote their shares or whether to seek appraisal.

If you are an investor who held RAD securities on October 27, 2015 and would like to learn more about this lawsuit, your ability to participate as a lead plaintiff, or our investigation, please contact us for your no-cost evaluation.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Rite Aid should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email RAD@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices in 10 cities. The Firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the Firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Read the Firm’s Securities Newsletter, and visit the blog. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.

Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 510-725-3000

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