CVS nears deal to buy Omnicare for more than $12 billion: sources

(Reuters) - CVS Health Corp , the second-largest U.S. drugstore operator, is nearing a deal to buy pharmacy service provider Omnicare Inc for more than $12 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A deal between the two companies could be announced as early as Thursday, one of the people said.

Representatives at CVS Health and Omnicare were not immediately available for comment.

Shares of Omnicare, the top U.S. provider of pharmacy services to the elderly, rose as much as 6.7 percent at $101 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The deal between CVS and Omnicare was first reported by Bloomberg News.

The news comes at a time when most pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy chain operators are consolidating to get better prices on drugs.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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