Content about Buybacks

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — AmerisourceBergen on Tuesday recorded revenues of $20.4 billion for fourth quarter 2011 ended Sept. 30, up 3.5%. Diluted earnings per share increased 8% to 54 cents. For the year, AmerisourceBergen posted $80.2 billion in revenue, up 2.9%.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens mitigated projected repercussions out of the chain's withdrawal from the Express Scripts pharmacy network come January, as the Walgreens/Express Scripts failed negotiations again dominated the pharmacy's quarterly analyst call Tuesday morning. All told, Express Scripts represents $5.3 billion in revenue to Walgreens, but the Chicago-based pharmacy is working toward retaining the prescription business from several employers and payers, "consistent with their contractual obligations," executives emphasized.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark’s board of directors has approved a new share repurchase program for up to $4 billion of the company's outstanding common stock.

The share repurchase authorization, which is effective immediately, enables the pharmacy retailer to affect the repurchases from time to time through a combination of open market repurchases, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase transactions, and/or other derivative transactions. 


MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Valeant Pharmaceuticals has purchased a dermatology subsidiary from Johnson & Johnson, the Canadian drug maker said Friday.

The $345 million acquisition of the Ortho Dermatologics division of J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals follows Valeant’s $425 million purchase of Dermik, the skin care business of French drug maker Sanofi. Ortho Dermatologics’ portfolio includes the drugs Retin-A Micro, Ertaczo and Renova, which collectively had sales of about $150 million in 2010.

CHICAGO — Through a partnership with Incentive Targeting and HaloEffect, Big Y Foods will become the first grocery retailer to offer Groupon deals digitally loaded to shoppers’ loyalty cards, the companies announced.

Big Y’s first Groupon offer, distributed among Springfield, Mass., subscribers on June 7, was for a newly introduced Shellfish Grill Pack, including lobster tails, mussels, clams and other seafood suitable for grilling, which retails at $39.99 and is being offered at a 40% discount for $24.

MINNEAPOLIS — First-quarter sales at Target increased 2.8% to $15.6 billion, and same-store sales increased 2%, the company reported.

The modest sales growth translated into earnings per share that advance 9.8% to 99 cents, 4 cents better than analysts’ consensus estimate of 95 cents, and net income that increased 2.7% to $689 million. Share repurchase activity contributed to the earnings-per-share growth as Target spent $819 million during the first quarter to buy back 15.4 million shares at an average price of $53.32.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark is expected to complete its acquisition of the Medicare Part D business of Universal American on April 29, the company has announced.

As previously reported, CVS Caremark will pay Universal American shareholders cash consideration of $1.25 billion plus the excess capital in the entities that operate Universal American's Medicare Part D business, less Universal American's outstanding trust preferred securities, which are being assumed by CVS Caremark.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Tuesday said that it expects to earn $1.60 to $1.80 per diluted share during the quarter, after the company's board approved a $1.1 billion dividend from Canada to the United States.

The dividend, Safeway said during its 2011 investor conference, will be used to pay off $600 million of U.S. debt, and the company will use the remainder of the dividend for share repurchases.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Though Schering-Plough’s — now Merck’s — Claritin and Johnson & Johnson’s Zyrtec product lines have dominated the over-the-counter antihistamine market, the big share of the prescription antihistamine market held by Sanofi-Aventis’ Allegra (fexofenadine hydrochloride) could give it a battering ram to bust in as well, thanks to the big break Sanofi got in the form of a Food and Drug Administration approval of an OTC switch for the drug.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark is more than doubling the size of its Medicare Part D program by acquiring the Medicare Part D business of Universal American for roughly $1.25 billion.

Universal American’s Part D business currently serves about 1.9 million Medicare PDP members, while CVS Caremark serves roughly 1.2 million Medicare PDP members. This reflects current levels of membership and does not include 2011 auto assignment or the results of the annual enrollment period, which ended Dec. 31, 2010.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway's board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents per share. The cash dividend will be payable on Jan. 13, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 23.

In related news, the retail chain's board also increased the authorized level of the company’s stock repurchase program by $1 billion to $7 billion. Through the end of third quarter 2010, Safeway repurchased approximately $5.2 billion of its stock and had approximately $800 million remaining under its stock repurchase program, Safeway said.