WOONSOCKET and WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has completed its acquisition of the Longs Drug Stores Corp. (NYSE: LDG) retail and pharmacy benefits management (PBM) chain.

The deal, valued at $2.9 billion in cash and debt, closed late yesterday, hours after CVS Caremark reported a 6.7-percent increase in third-quarter profit to $736.0 million on net revenue that rose 1.9 percent to $20.9 billion. (READ MORE)

“We look forward to working with our new Longs colleagues and to serving the millions of loyal customers who shop Longs stores,” President and CEO Thomas M. Ryan said in a statement.

“With the closing now behind us, we are focused on realizing the many benefits of this combination, which accelerates our expansion into key growth markets and strengthens our position as the nation’s leading pharmacy services company.”

Besides the 521 Longs retail drugstores in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada, the acquisition includes an RxAmerica LLC subsidiary that offers PBM services to more than 8 million members and prescription-drug plan benefits to about 450,000 Medicare beneficiaries, plus the real estate associated with about 200 stores, three distribution centers and three offices.

Those facilities will join the 6,347 regular pharmacies, 57 specialty pharmacy stores, 20 specialty mail-order pharmacies and seven regular mail-order pharmacies – in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico – that CVS Caremark reported as of Sept. 30.

Layoff notices already have gone out to about 800 workers in Walnut Creek and Antioch, Calif., as part of a plan to close 80 percent of Longs’ corporate operations by next June, according to the Associated Press. But a CVS spokeswoman said job-placement assistance would be offered to those affected, adding that most of Longs’ 22,000-some employees will keep their jobs.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) – the nation’s largest provider of prescription medications – operates the CVS/pharmacy stores; the CVS.com online pharmacy; Caremark Pharmacy Services; and the MinuteClinic retail-based health care subsidiary. Additional information is available at www.cvs.com.

To learn more about Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Longs Drug Stores Corp. (NYSE: LDG) and its RxAmerica LLC pharmacy benefit management subsidiary, visit www.longs.com or www.RxAmerica.com.