Express Scripts seeking state help for expansion
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/13/2009
By Tim Logan
Express Scripts is considering a local expansion that could bring at least 100 jobs, and perhaps more, to St. Louis over the next few years.
A state board will discuss next week whether to give financial incentives to the company so that it expands in Missouri instead of elsewhere.
Neither the state nor Express Scripts, which is based in north St. Louis County, would share details, but the company is applying for BUILD Missouri bonds, according to the Missouri Development Finance Board. That program requires $15 million in new investment and at least 100 new jobs over three years.
It's part of an incentive package designed to "help Express Scripts to consider choosing the state of Missouri as a location for a proposed expansion," said John Fougere, a spokesman for the state Department of Economic Development.
Express Scripts spokeswoman Maria Palumbo confirmed that an expansion is being discussed but said it was "too early in the process" to release specifics. The company would wait until after next week's meeting of the Missouri Development Finance Board to share more details, she said. "We are always looking at various facilities and considering our future needs."
The fast-growing pharmacy benefits manager is St. Louis' second-biggest publicly traded company by revenue and has about 3,000 employees in the region. Many of them work at its headquarters complex on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, while others are in Maryland Heights.
Last week, developer Paul McKee told a St. Louis city board that Express Scripts planned to build a third building near UMSL -- across Interstate 70 in NorthPark, a business park that McKee's McEagle Properties is co-developing. McKee declined to comment when asked for specifics later.
Despite the recession, Express Scripts is in expansion mode. It has added employees in recent months and in April announced a $4.7 billion deal to buy
Net Rx, a subsidiary of health insurance giant WellPoint. The merger is expected to close later this year.
Express Scripts may be weighing other sites for growth. The company has large offices in Minnesota, New Jersey, Arizona and Florida. NetRx, with 2,000 employees, is based in Indianapolis and has offices in Texas and Ohio.
No details were available on how much funding Express Scripts wants from the state finance board. The BUILD program can fund from $500,000 to $25 million for buildings and roadwork. The finance board will introduce the request on Tuesday.
