CVS buying Caremark Rx for $21 billion

CVS Corp. of Woonsocket, R.I., will acquire pharmacy benefit manager Caremark Rx Inc. of Nashville in an all-stock deal worth nearly $21 billion.

Officials at both companies could not be reached for comment. The deal would consolidate CVS's growing power in the pharmaceutical industry, and would be one of the first mergers of a major retail pharmacy with a significant benefits management company.

The combined firms will be called CVS/Caremark Corp., with CVS chairman and chief executive Tom Ryan as chief executive. Caremark chairman Mac Crawford will be chairman of the new company.
(By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe staff