Caremark board affirms CVS merger, rejects proposal from Express Scripts

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 8 - Caremark Rx, Inc.'s board of directors rejected Express Scripts, Inc.'s merger proposal saying it lacked "strategic rationale" and instead unanimously affirmed the company's pending merger with CVS Corp.

The Caremark/CVS merger has received antitrust clearance and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2007, according to a company news release.

"Express Scripts' proposal is not in the best interests of Caremark, its shareholders, customers and consumers," Caremark chairman, president and chief executive officer Mac Crawford said in the release.

In response to its rejected proposal, Express Scripts, a Maryland Heights, Mo., provider of pharmacy benefit management services, said it believes its offer was superior with a premium of roughly 13% and that Caremark "is attempting to use antitrust as a red herring to distract stockholders from the real value differential at issue," according to a company news release.

Caremark is a pharmaceutical services company based in Nashville, Tenn.

Based in Woonsocket, R.I., CVS operates retail drugstores throughout the United States.

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