CVS Caremark Corp. has had enough Longs Drug Stores Corp. shareholders accept its buyout bid to guarantee the deal will close.

The deal, if completed as expected in the fourth quarter, will give CVS an instant lead in Hawai'i, where close rival Walgreen last year opened the first of 30 to 40 planned stores aimed at going head-to-head with the much-smaller Longs.

Although Longs is being absorbed by a company known for acquiring other chains and making them CVS stores, CVS said it will maintain the Longs name in Hawai'i.

CVS had extended the $71.50-per-share tender offer until Thursday night after it fell just short of gaining the approval of holders of two-thirds of Longs shares. CVS now owns just under 77.6 percent of Longs stock, giving it enough ownership to close the buyout.

"We are extremely pleased that Longs shareholders have determined to tender more than 77 percent of Longs shares into our offer," CVS chairman and president Tom Ryan said.

"We are extending our tender offer merely to ensure completion of the share delivery process, and we look forward to closing the transaction."

The news comes a week after Walgreen Co. dropped its bid of $2.8 billion. Longs had already accepted the CVS offer, but several shareholders considered it too low and pushed for the company to consider Walgreen's. However, others thought that Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen might face antitrust issues because of overlap between its West Coast stores and those of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Longs. Longs has 521 stores in four western states, including 39 in Hawai'i. The CVS-Longs deal has already cleared antitrust review.

Shares of Longs closed up 2 cents at $71.46 yesterday. CVS shares fell $1.14 to $26.91, and Walgreen shares rose 21 cents to $23.30.