CVS to Buy Caremark in $21 Billion Deal

CVS and Caremark Rx said Wednesday afternoon that they agreed to combine in what they described as a “merger of equals,” creating a company with about $75 billion in annual revenue. As is typical in such deals, though, one company emerged as the de facto buyer: CVS’s shareholders would end up owning a slight majority — 54.5 percent — of the enlarged company, and Caremark shareholders would turn in their stock in exchange for CVS shares, the companies said.
The announcement came a few hours after CVS, a drug-store chain, and Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager, confirmed a report in The New York Times that they were in talks about a possible transaction.