CVS Caremark buys Longs Drug Stores

Drugstore chain CVS Caremark, looking to build its West Coast presence, said yesterday that it would buy Longs Drug Stores in a deal valued at $2.7 billion. The $71.50-per-share cash offer, announced after the close of trading, was a 32 percent premium over the $54.04 closing price for Longs, based in Walnut Creek, Calif. Longs' shares soared 30 percent, or $16.21, to $70.25 in after-hours trading. Including the assumption of roughly $200 million in debt, the deal is valued at $2.9 billion. Executives at CVS, based in Woonsocket, R.I., said the acquisition will give the nation's largest provider of prescriptions significant inroads in fast-growing West Coast markets where sites for stores are often unavailable or expensive to buy. More fuel-efficient GM trucks on the way General Motors is releasing more fuel-efficient... [read full story]