The two retailers announced a $1.9 billion deal today that would put Target’s nearly 1,700 pharmacies under CVS control.
The pharmacies would be rebranded as CVS/pharmacy and operated as a mini-store within each Target where they are located. New Target stores will launch with CVS pharmacies, according to a statement from the drugstore chain.
In addition to the pharmacies, Target has approximately 80 in-store clinics that will be rebranded as CVS MinuteClinics. CVS says it also intends to open 20 new clinics in Target stores over the next few years.
Target and CVS will also partner on between 5-10 smaller-format TargetExpress stores with CVS-branded pharmacies.
The drugstore giant says it is committed to offering comparable jobs to the 14,000 Target employees affected by this deal.
If approved by regulators, this could be a savvy deal for CVS as it gains access to customers at 1,700 established locations without having to do heavy construction.
That said, the deal will take away Target as a competitor in the pharmacy market, which could draw some antitrust scrutiny from regulators.
The stores aren’t giving a definite timeframe for the acquisition to be finalized, but say that it the transition to CVS pharmacies will begin a few months after the deal closes.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist