A group of companies that includes Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle supermarkets submitted the apparent winning bid to purchase the assets of the bankrupt Phar-Mor discount drug chain in a deal that could to lead to the closing of all or most its stores. The Giant Eagle group, which included two liquidation companies, Hilco Merchant Resources of Chicago and Ozer Group of Boston, along with Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Pharmacies, will pay approximately $141 million for the 73 remaining Phar-Mor stores and a distribution center in Youngstown, Ohio, where the chain is headquartered. The sale must win approval of a bankruptcy court judge, which may come today. Giant Eagle will take possession of 10 store locations, and lease the buildings for use by noncompetitors, said Rob Borella, spokesman for Giant Eagle. The deal also calls for Giant Eagle to take possession of all of the inventory in Phar-Mor’s Youngstown warehouse, all of the pharmaceutical assets of 27 stores in the Pittsburgh area and in Ohio, and all of the customer prescription files of those 27 stores. Nonpharmaceutical assets of those 27 stores would be liquidated. “There are no plans for ongoing operations at any of the 27 Phar-Mor locations,” Giant Eagle said in a statement. “From our perspective, the Phar-Mor name will be completely gone,” said Borella, “though that may not be the case with CVS.” The disposition of the remaining Phar-Mor stores was not clear Wednesday, and CVS Corp. and the Ozer Group could not be reached for comment. Borella would not divulge just how much Giant Eagle will contribute to the $141 million bid. More than nine bidders took part in the 14-hour auction, which concluded just before midnight Tuesday in Youngstown. “We felt that we were able to pursue an acquisition that makes sense for growing our pharmacy business, and improving our top and bottom line,” Borella said. He added that Giant Eagle is offering preferential hiring to qualified Phar-Mor retail employees for approximately 400 part-time positions and some full-time positions currently open at Giant Eagle stores. Once those are filled, Phar-Mor employees will be placed on waiting lists as first choice for future positions. “We expect to hire almost all of the Phar-Mor pharmacists at those 27 stores (about 80 pharmacists), and many of the pharmacy technicians,” he said. “Now we just have to close the deal,” John R. Ficarro, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Phar-Mor, said yesterday. Ficarro would not comment on what would happen to the remainder of the more than 5,000 Phar-Mor jobs that were at risk, including about 1,000 in the Youngstown area. The deal still has to be approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown by Judge William Bodoh. “We’re looking at having everything done by the end of next week,” said Ficarro. Phar-Mor was founded in 1982 by Giant Eagle Chairman David Shapira and Youngstown entrepreneur Michael Monus. The chain had grown to 300 stores in 33 states by before Monus was accused of bilking the company of more than $500 million. The chain fell in to bankruptcy, and after two trials, Monus was convicted and jailed. A revamped Phar-Mor emerged from bankruptcy in 1995, but could not overcome strong competition and a wave of consolidation in the drug store industry. Last September, the company again sought bankruptcy protection, intending to continue operations. But losses continued to mount, forcing the decision to sell all assets to satisfy creditors.

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