Express Scripts and Medco Announce Merger

New York, NY—Express Scripts has announced its intention to buy pharmacy benefits management (PBM) rival Medco Health Solutions for a reported $29.1 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2012 pending approval from regulators and shareholders, would create the world’s largest PBM, Express Scripts Holding Inc. The new company could use its size to negotiate better discounts on drug prices, although it would also have less competition than before. Last year, the two companies processed over 1.7 billion prescriptions, with combined revenue of approximately $110 billion. Express Scripts’ largest competitor after the deal would be CVS Caremark Corp., which handled over 585 million claims in 2010.

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