Business
CVS Health Corp., the second-largest U.S. drugstore operator, is nearing a deal to buy pharmacy service provider Omnicare Inc for more than $12 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A deal between the two companies could be announced as early as Thursday, reports Reuters.
Representatives at CVS Health and Omnicare were not immediately available for comment.
Shares of Omnicare, the top U.S. provider of pharmacy services to the elderly, rose as much as 6.7 percent at $101 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The deal between CVS and Omnicare was first reported by Bloomberg News.
The news comes at a time when most pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy chain operators are consolidating to get better prices on drugs.
Omnicare delivers drugs and helps senior-living facilities manage residents’ medications. CVS is the nation’s second-largest pharmacy-benefits manager, handling drug plans for health insurers and employers. In its most recent quarter, growth in sales from that business far outpaced the company’s retail division.
Both CVS and Omnicare are big in Medicare Part D, a federal program that subsidizes medicine for retirees, Charles Rhyee, a New York-based analyst for Cowen Group Inc., said in an interview last month. Omnicare also drew interest from industry leader Express Scripts Holding Co., people with knowledge of the matter said last month.
