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CVS Health is buying Aetna for $69 billion in 2017’s biggest deal
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The pharmacy giant is acquiring the third largest insurer in the US in a $69 billion deal.
The deal creates a new type of company that includes a health insurer, a retail pharmacy, and a company that negotiates prescription drug prices with drugmakers called a pharmacy benefits manager. It’s the biggest merger to happen in the US in 2017.
“This is a natural evolution for both companies as they seek to put the consumer at the center of health care delivery,” the companies said in a news release.
The timing of this massive acquisition is no coincidence. Speculation that Amazon might be getting into the pharmacy business has been rampant for months, and the company’s notorious for stepping into new businesses and crushing the competition with low price, fast delivery, and its massive network of loyal shoppers.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]
If approved, the $69 billion acquisition — $77 billion including debt — would drastically remap the health care industry. CVS Health (CVS)is a massive drugstore chain and prescription drug insurer, while Aetna (AET) is one of the nation’s largest health insurers.
It would also go down as the largest health insurance deal in history, far exceeding Express Scripts (ESRX)’ $29 billion acquisition of Medco in 2012, the last record-holder.
The acquisition is not a done deal. It will have to be approved by antitrust regulators, who have been skeptical of similar health care mergers.
Buying Aetna puts CVS in a better position to compete with other integrated health care providers, such as UnitedHealthcare (UNH) and pharmacy benefits manager Optum. PBMs like Optum and CVS’s Caremark help manage prescription drug plans for commercial health insurers.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6055″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]