Walgreens buying bankrupt N.J. chain

Drug Fair Group Inc., the bankrupt New Jersey pharmacy operator owned by Sun Capital Partners LLC, won final approval of a loan to help finance operations as it sells stores.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon gave Drug Fair permission to borrow as much as $40 million from Bank of America Corp. as the agent for a group of lenders, according to court documents filed yesterday in Wilmington, Delaware.

Drug Fair, founded in 1954, agreed last month to sell 32 stores in central and northern New Jersey to a unit of Deerfield-based Walgreen Co. for about $54 million, court papers show. Walgreen's offer may rise to as much as $65.1 million, depending on a valuation of the stores' inventory.

Shannon scheduled an April 24 auction for other bidders to try and best Walgreen's offer.

The case is In Re Drug Fair Group Inc., 09-10897, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).