Revco Is Target Of Takeover Attempt

CVS Corp., a leading East Coast drug store chain, is branching into the Midwest and South and to the top tier of pharmacies with the $2.8 billion takeover of Revco DS Inc. announced Friday.

CVS, still concentrated east of the Mississippi, would have the most outlets of any drug store chain and would be second only to Walgreens in terms of revenue.

The two companies agreed to the deal amid tougher competition from mail-order drug sellers and big supermarket pharmacies. By combining, the drug stores hope to gain more bargaining power by offering insurers a longer list of potential patients.

Rite Aid Corp. last year dropped a $1.8 billion deal with Revco after the Federal Trade Commission said Rite Aid would gain too much of the market and threatened to sue to block the deal.

CVS Chief Operating Officer Thomas Ryan said Friday that his company and Revco have little geographic overlap.