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Excited… Synergy… CVS/Caremark

November 3, 2006

AUTHOR:

I am trying to make up my mind about the CVS (CVS) - Caremark (CMX) deal. So far I have more questions than answers.

My apologies for the silence over the last month, but I am in the final stages of completing my book and there is just not enough time in the day to juggle investing, teaching, book writing and coming up with insights worth sharing.

I am trying to make up my mind about the CVS (CVS) – Caremark (CMX) deal. So far I have more questions than answers. In general I am not crazy about acquisitions of this magnitude as the integration risk is too high. But I am giving CVS the benefit of the doubt, at least for now, as it has done a great job with acquisitions in the past. (A factoid from the CVS/Caremark conference call: Management mentioned “excited” nine times, “synergy” six times.)

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