As the road show for the Rite Aid (RAD) and Albertsons gets underway, shareholders must first score a win in court over appraisal rights. While the count of "no" vote is certainly accumulating at a rapid rate, blocking the deal will need more support. Without the institutional entities moving to vote against the merger, existing holders will get stuck with shares of a post-merged firm that are ultimately worthless on the stock market.

Major Institutional Shareholder "No" Vote Needed

The biggest institutional holders of Rite Aid stock include Vanguard Group Inc., with 87.9 million shares, OppenheimerFunds Inc., with 52.9 million shares, and Highfields Capital Management at 47 million shares. Highfields is rumored to be readying a "no" vote, so for the resistance against management’s merger to play out, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company (with 28 million shares) needs to vote against the deal, too.

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