CVS to buy Aetna for US$67.5 bil, remaking heathcare sector

NEW YORK (Dec 4): CVS Health Corp. will buy Aetna Inc. for about US$67.5 billion ($91 billion), creating a health-care giant that will have a hand in everything from insurance to the corner drugstore.

CVS will pay US$207 a share for Aetna, with US$145 a share in cash and the rest in stock, the companies said in a statement Sunday. That’s a 29% premium to Aetna’s share price on Oct. 25, the day before the companies were reported to be in talks.

The deal is among the biggest health-care mergers of the past decade, combining the largest U.S. drugstore chain with the third-biggest health insurer. CVS also manages drug-benefits plans for employers and insurers, a business that could help steer some of Aetna’s 22 million customers into CVS drugstores when they fill a prescription. The deal will give Aetna’s insurance plans a closer on-the-ground tie to where customers get care.

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