Caremark Inc

CVS Caremark Corp. is being investigated by a multi-state task force looking into the consequences of the company's 2007 purchase of Caremark Rx Inc., Florida's attorney general's office said Wednesday. Florida is conducting a review of the merger that created the largest U.S. supplier of prescription drugs, the state attorney general's office said. Florida is working with other states, the office said. The Caremark unit provides pharmacy-benefits management to employers and accounted for about half of the company's 2009 sales of $98.7 billion.

Caremark Rx Inc. said that Washington state's attorney general was demanding information about the pharmacy benefit manager's business practices and that 18 other states would soon follow suit. Shares of Nashville-based Caremark, which recently bought industry rival AdvancePCS, dropped $1.20 to $31 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Caremark Rx Inc. shareholders approved a $26.5-billion takeover bid by CVS Corp., creating one of the largest competitors in the prescription drug industry, the company said. For months, CVS has been in a bidding war for Caremark with Express Scripts Inc. But increased antitrust scrutiny of the Express Scripts' proposal and its decision this week not to increase the offer turned the bidding war in CVS' favor, some analysts said. The combined company, to be called CVS/Caremark Corp.

CVS Corp., the second-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, boosted its offer for Caremark RX Inc. for a third time, a day after Express Scripts Inc. raised its bid. CVS increased the dividend it would pay Caremark shareholders by $1.50, to $7.50, bringing the total to $60.43 a share in cash and stock. Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS called the offer final.

A Delaware judge ordered Caremark Rx Inc. to delay a shareholder vote on a proposed acquisition by CVS Corp. just hours after the drugstore operator heated up the bidding by tripling the special cash dividend it proposes to pay. Caremark shareholders were initially scheduled to meet Feb. 20, but the vote was delayed until March 9 in an order signed by Chancellor William B. Chandler III.

Caremark Rx Inc. shareholders approved a $26.5-billion takeover bid by CVS Corp., creating one of the largest competitors in the prescription drug industry, the company said. For months, CVS has been in a bidding war for Caremark with Express Scripts Inc. But increased antitrust scrutiny of the Express Scripts' proposal and its decision this week not to increase the offer turned the bidding war in CVS' favor, some analysts said. The combined company, to be called CVS/Caremark Corp.

Medical Care America to Sell Unit: The Dallas-based company said it has agreed to sell Critical Care America, the home infusion services unit it acquired only 1 1/2 years ago, to Northbrook, Ill.-based Caremark International Inc. for about $175 million in cash. The company plans to use proceeds from the sale, along with up to $50 million of its own cash, to buy back up to 7 million of its 36.

Newport Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Thursday it has settled a breach-of-contract lawsuit involving its 1987 acquisition of a mail-order pharmacy business from Caremark Inc., a home health-care company formerly based in Irvine. Judy Archbald, Newport Pharmaceuticals' general counsel, said a settlement agreement signed Wednesday calls for Newport Pharmaceuticals to receive $4 million from Baxter Corp., the giant Illinois health-care conglomerate that now owns Caremark.

Federal regulators have requested more details about Express Scripts Inc.'s hostile bid for competitor Caremark Rx Inc., which could mean closer antitrust scrutiny of the proposal. The Federal Trade Commission issued a second request to Express Scripts seeking more information about its $26.5-billion cash and stock proposal to acquire Caremark, whose board is favoring a bid from CVS Corp. Nashville-based Caremark is the nation's second-largest pharmacy benefits manager, and Maryland Heights, Mo.

CVS Corp., the second-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, boosted its offer for Caremark RX Inc. for a third time, a day after Express Scripts Inc. raised its bid. CVS increased the dividend it would pay Caremark shareholders by $1.50, to $7.50, bringing the total to $60.43 a share in cash and stock. Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS called the offer final.

Express Scripts Inc. sweetened its bid for Caremark Rx Inc. on Wednesday after suffering two setbacks in its battle to wrest the rival pharmacy-benefit manager away from a $22.8-billion deal with CVS Corp. Express Scripts, which offered to pay interest on the cash portion of its offer, said it expected to receive a "second request" for information from the Federal Trade Commission on its $26.6-billion offer to buy Caremark.

A Delaware judge ordered Caremark Rx Inc. to delay a shareholder vote on a proposed acquisition by CVS Corp. just hours after the drugstore operator heated up the bidding by tripling the special cash dividend it proposes to pay. Caremark shareholders were initially scheduled to meet Feb. 20, but the vote was delayed until March 9 in an order signed by Chancellor William B. Chandler III.

Two more investment advisory firms recommended Monday that shareholders of Caremark Rx Inc. reject a buyout offer from the drugstore operator CVS Corp. when it comes up for a vote next week. CtW Investment Group and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. joined two other advisors who said Nashville-based Caremark's board and managers had not tried to get the best deal for shareholders. CtW held a forum Feb.

Caremark Rx Inc.'s shareholders would receive a $2-a-share one-time dividend if their company completes a merger with CVS Corp. that Express Scripts Inc. tried to scuttle Tuesday with a hostile tender offer for Caremark. CVS and Caremark also said in a joint statement that they would retire 150 million shares of the merged company by buying stock from financial institutions. That would add $4.8 billion in debt, a regulatory filing said.