CVS Caremark Corp. plans to buy 19 Medicine Chest drug stores in Texas later this month.
CVS said Friday that under the deal, CVS/pharmacy will operate nine of the acquired locations and relocate 10 other Medicine Chest pharmacies into nearby CVS/pharmacy stores. Medicine Chest will continue to operate its remaining 10 locations.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Plans call for CVS to acquire the Medicine Chest stores during the last weekend of December.
"CVS/pharmacy is committed to helping people on their path to better health in our more than 550 Texas locations. By expanding our presence in the state through the acquisition of Medicine Chest's high-quality pharmacies, we will offer our customers greater convenience and access to our services," Laura Underwood, area vice president for CVS/pharmacy, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with our new colleagues and taking care of our new customers' pharmacy needs."
Medicine Chest pharmacies in Atlanta, Azie, Ennis, Greenville, Liberty, Livingston, Marshall, Mt. Pleasant, Paris and Sulphur Springs (Gilmer Street), Texas, are slated to relocate their pharmacy business and transfer customer prescription records to the corresponding CVS stores on Dec. 31.
Due to operate as CVS/pharmacy stores are the following Medicine Chest locations: Alvarado, Bandera, Elgin, La Feria, Lindale, Mineola, Rockdale, Sulphur Springs (Church Street) and Winnsboro. Prescription services will be available during the remodeling and renaming process, the companies said.
Based in Sulphur Springs, Medicine Chest Pharmacy has 26 retail pharmacies and three long-term care pharmacies in Texas. The company will continue to own and operate seven retail pharmacies, located in Clarksville, Mt. Vernon, Quitman, Tyler, Orange and Bryan, Texas. Its long-term care pharmacies are in Houston, Sulphur Springs and Bryan.
"Medicine Chest Pharmacy is proud to have served the Texas community since 1976, and it has been an honor to take care of our customers' pharmacy needs over the years," stated Chad Michel, chief operating officer of Medicine Chest Pharmacy. "As we continue to focus on our long-term care pharmacies and our remaining retail locations, we believe CVS/pharmacy is the right partner that will maintain the same level of quality care in those markets we have divested. CVS has worked very hard to make a smooth transition for our customers and employees. Prescription and insurance information will be available at CVS seamlessly, with no interruption of services."