14 February 2017Insurance

Aetna to pay $1bn to Humana as merger plan is shelved

Health insurers Aetna and Humana said that they have ended their merger agreement after a US federal court ruled against the deal, saying it would stifle competition in the Medicare Advantage programme.

“While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for health care consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction,” said Aetna chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini. “We are disappointed to take this course of action after 19 months of planning, but both companies need to move forward with their respective strategies in order to continue to meet member expectations. Our mutual respect for our companies’ capabilities has grown throughout this process, and we remain committed to a shared goal of helping drive the shift to a consumer-centric health care system.”

Aetna will pay Humana $1 billion as a result of the termination of the merger agreement. Additionally, Aetna has terminated its previously announced agreement to sell certain Medicare Advantage assets to Molina Healthcare and will pay the applicable fees associated with that termination.

In 2015 Aetna unveiled plans to acquire rival health insurer Humana in a $37 billion deal.

Today’s top stories

Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg denies having admitted to fraud

Barbican bolsters cyber team with Allianz execs

AXA equitable head moves to AIG despite promotion

SCOR Global Life Americas reshuffles roles; promotes execs

Ed taps Willis director to expand property/casualty division

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Insurance
3 July 2015   Aetna has unveiled plans to acquire rival health insurer Humana in a $37 billion deal.