CVS to buy about 200 independent pharmacies a year

CVS Caremark Corp., the largest U.S. distributor of prescription drugs, said it will purchase about 200 independent pharmacies a year to increase market share.

Those outlets would be folded into CVS's existing store base rather than operated separately, Chief Executive Officer Tom Ryan said today at a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. investor conference in New York.

CVS, the second-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, has locations in Bannockburn, Lincolnshire, Mount Prospect and Northbrook. It has expanded through acquisition since at least 1993, including the 2008 purchase of Longs Drug Stores Corp., which added 521 outlets. CVS plans to increase its locations by about 2 percent a year, or 100 to 125, Ryan said. Independent pharmacists now hold about 18 percent of the market, he said.

"It's just tough for them to survive," Ryan said of such pharmacies. "We're going to continue to do that. We don't operate the stores, we move them into our stores."

CVS, based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, rose 86 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $35.20 at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 9.3 percent this year.

Walgreen Co. is the largest U.S. drugstore chain by sales. Both CVS and Walgreen have more than 7,000 locations.