Express Scripts' $29.1 Billion Medco Deal Closes

Pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug plans for employers, government agencies and other clients, using their large purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices. They make money by reducing costs for health plan sponsors and members.

In July, St. Louis-based Express Scripts said it would pay $28.80 in cash and a portion of an Express Scripts share valued at $42.56 for each share of Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco.

Express Scripts said Monday that it still expects the acquisition to result in cost savings of $1 billion once the two companies are fully integrated. The company also still expects its earnings per share to increase slightly in the first year after closing and then moderately increase once the companies are fully combined.

Both companies become subsidiaries of Express Scripts Holding Co., which will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol “ESRX.”

Express Scripts has also made news with its public split with Walgreen Co., the nation’s largest drugstore chain. After a contract expired, Walgreen stopped filling prescriptions for Express Scripts, saying it would rather give up the revenue than continue filling unprofitable prescriptions.