Maybe not exactly for 'Biotech Valuation', still I think this trend interesting.
CHICAGO (Reuters) -- Walgreen Co. said Wednesday it plans to buy Take Care Health Systems, which operates in-store health clinics, as it moves to offer more patient services in its drugstores.
The terms of the all-cash deal, which is expected to close next week, were not disclosed.
The announcement came after the close of trading on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Federal Trade Commission said a deal between Walgreen (Charts, Fortune 500), Take Care Health and private equity management firm Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Co. had received clearance from U.S. antitrust authorities.
The deal comes after Walgreen's main rival, CVS (Charts, Fortune 500), bought No. 1 in-store clinic operator MinuteClinic in 2006 and follows an announcement by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Charts, Fortune 500) last month that it plans to open as many as 400 in-store clinics in the next two to three years.
All three companies hope to attract Americans looking for less expensive treatment options amid soaring health care costs.
Walgreen said that, with this acquisition, it plans to have more than 400 clinics within its stores by the end of 2008, up from 59 currently.
Take Care currently operates most of the Health Corner clinics located in Walgreens drugstores. Two other providers, RediClinic and EasyCare, operate clinics in the Atlanta and Las Vegas areas, respectively.
A Walgreen spokesman said the clinics operated by the two other firms will eventually be operated by Take Care.
In-store clinics have been growing at a rapid clip in the United States as busy consumers look for more convenient hours than doctor's offices provide and millions of uninsured Americans search for a low-cost, quick alternative to long waits in emergency rooms.
The clinics offer health care services such as tests for strep throat but do not offer comprehensive medical care. They are typically located within stores, but the space is leased by clinic operators.
Retailers typically gain revenue from the leases, as well as the potential to attract customers to their stores who need to fill prescriptions issued by the clinics. They also hope customers then shop for other items, boosting their overall sales.
Take Care, which is based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, was founded in 2004 by Hal Rosenbluth, past president and chief executive of travel company Rosenbluth International, and Peter Miller, a former executive at Johnson & Johnson (Charts, Fortune 500).
Beecken Petty, a Chicago-based firm focused on health care investments, had a stake in Take Care. It provided funding last year to help finance Take Care's rollout of clinics.
Take Care operates 50 clinics in Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The company previously said it planned to have 200 centers open by the end of 2007 and 1,000 centers across the country in the next few years.
Walgreen shares rose 2 percent to close at $45.28 before the company officially announced the acquisition. The shares of rival CVS/Caremark Corp. rose 1.5 percent to close at $38.12.
CVS's MinuteClinic has more than 175 U.S. locations, most located in CVS stores, and plans to add more. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has said up to 2,000 clinics could be in its stores over the next five to seven years. |
