Drugstore chain operator CVS Corp. said Thursday it has completed its $26.5 billion acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx.
The combined company will be named CVS/Caremark Corp. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ''CVS.'' Caremark shares will no longer trade under the symbol ''CMX'' on the NYSE.
As a term of CVS' offer, the combined company will begin buying back about 150 million shares of its common stock, or about 10% of shares outstanding, for $35 per share in the next five business days.
The combined company's board consists of seven members from each company, with former Caremark Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mac Crawford serving as chairman, and CVS' Tom Ryan continuing on as president and CEO of CVS/Caremark.
The closing ends months of bidding between CVS and Caremark rival Express Scripts, which was repeatedly rebuffed by Caremark's board. -- by the Associated Press
