Green Equity Investors exchanges nearly 1.9 million shares of Rite Aid preferred stock for common stock

CAMP HILL, Pa. – A private equity firm that is a major Rite Aid shareholder has exchanged its preferred stocks for common stock, according to a regulatory filing.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Los Angeles-based Green Equity Investors exchanged nearly 1.9 million shares of 6% Series H preferred stock and 7.75 shares of Series G preferred stock for about 40 million shares of common stock, which was trading at $5.20 per share on the New York Stock Exchange Friday morning, up 2.34% from its opening price, for a total value of about $208 million, or 4.4% of the company's total stock.

At most publicly traded companies, including Rite Aid, holders of preferred stock have different rights from holders of common stock. At the company's annual meeting earlier this year, Series G and Series H preferred stockholders voted as a single class for one member of the board of directors, while holders of common stock elected the remaining board members, according to the company's 2013 proxy statement.