Omnicare Inc.’s eight-month pursuit of acquiring PharMerica Corp. finally crumbled recently under the weight of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit. If successful, Omnicare’s post-acquisition market share would have been 57 percent of the long-term care pharmacy (LTC pharmacy) market. The FTC stepped in to stop what it believed would have been a resulting anti-competitive advantage that would hurt the health care market, its patients and the taxpayers “who foot much of the bill under Medicare.”
As alleged in the FTC’s complaint, Omnicare is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Kentucky. In 2010, it generated total revenues of approximately $6.1 billion. PharMerica is a Delaware corporation that is also headquartered in Kentucky. In 2010, PharMerica had total annual revenues of approximately $1.8 billion. Omnicare is the nation’s largest LTC pharmacy followed by its rival, PharMerica. Omnicare owns and operates approximately 204 LTC pharmacies in 44 states, while PharMerica owns and operates approximately 97 LTC pharmacies in 43 states.
