WOONSOCKET – CVS Corp. (NYSE: CVS) says its shareholders have approved the company’s $27 billion purchase of Caremark Rx Inc. (NYSE: CMX).
“We are extremely pleased our shareholders strongly supported our proposed merger with Caremark today,” said Tom Ryan, CVS’ chairman, president and CEO. “This landmark combination will uniquely position CVS/Caremark to deliver new products and services.”
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The decision came at a special meeting in Woonsocket, where 91.8 percent of shareholders voted in favor of the deal, according to Bloomberg News. CVS shareholders also approved changing the company’s name to CVS/Caremark, pending the transaction’s approval by Caremark shareholders.
The deal goes before Caremark shareholders tomorrow at a special meeting in Nashville. Caremark has urged them to approve the deal.
Rival bidder Express Scripts Inc.’s hostile takeover offer, valued by Bloomberg at $27.5 billion, is still under review by federal regulators.
“The choice for Caremark shareholders at this point is between the CVS offer and the stand-alone value of Caremark,” Brishen Rogers, at CtW Investment Group, told Bloomberg. “We expect a tougher battle for tomorrow’s vote than today’s, but it does look like Caremark will get what they want.”
Shares of both companies rose today in New York Stock Exchange trading. Caremark shares rose $1.67 or 2.7 percent to $62.75 at 4:01 p.m.; they have climbed 27 percent since the CVS bid was announced Nov. 1. CVS shares rose $1.03 or 3.2 percent to $33.84.
Shares of Express Scripts also rose, gaining $1.31 or 1.6 percent to $82.41 in Nasdaq composite trading.
Additional information is available at investor.cvs.com and www.cvscaremarkmerger.com.
