page_title: Longs Drugs
section_title: Acquisition
hierarchical_section_title: Longs Drugs / Acquisition
caption_attribution_description: English: Outside of Longs Drugs store at 186 El Camino Real in South San Francisco, California, USA.
context_page_description: Longs Drugs is an American chain with approximately 70 drugstores throughout the state of Hawaii and formerly in the Continental US.
  Before being acquired by CVS Health in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States. Besides Hawaii, it had stores located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington, and was headquartered in Walnut Creek, California.
context_section_description: On August 12, 2008, Longs Drugs announced that they were being acquired by CVS Health, the operator of the national CVS/pharmacy chain of drugstores. CVS bought the 521 Longs locations to expand its presence on the West Coast, primarily in California. The acquisition also included access to the Hawaii market. CVS Health paid a total of $2.54 billion to acquire all outstanding shares of Longs Drugs, and hoped to save upwards of $100 million in 2009 and $140–$150 million in 2010 in expenses from synergies attained from the business combination. On September 12, 2008, the Walgreen Co. stepped in with an offer representing a $3.50 per share premium over the cash purchase price offered by CVS.  However, Walgreens dropped their offer on October 8, allowing CVS' deal to progress. On October 29, CVS had secured 78.07% of Longs shares, and Longs was merged into CVS the next day on October 30. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, CVS retained the Longs Drugs name in the Hawaii stores "because of its high name recognition and the geographical separation." Before the merger, CVS had no full-service stores in Northern California or Hawaii.
caption: Storefront of Longs Drugs in South San Francisco, California, USA. Note sign announcing CVS/pharmacy coming soon.
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