CVS Health Secures Final Approval for $70 Billion Aetna Deal

   By Micah Maidenberg

New York state regulators have given their blessing for CVS Health Corp.'s (CVS) nearly $70 billion takeover of insurer Aetna Inc. (AET), clearing the way for the deal to be completed this week.

On Monday, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced it would approve the deal after CVS and Aetna Health Insurance Co. of New York agreed to a range of consumer protections and said they would spend $40 million on health insurance education measures.

CVS said in a securities filing Monday it may complete the deal on Nov. 28. A CVS spokeswoman confirmed the company now has all state-level permissions for the merger in place.

Antitrust officials at the Justice Department gave the deal the green light in October, not long after Aetna agreed to sell its Medicare drug business, which overlapped with a CVS unit. Last week, Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS said it had secured permission for the deal from almost all state regulators.

CVS's deal for Aetna would bring together one of the nation's dominant drugstore chain and pharmacy benefit managers with the third-largest health insurer.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 26, 2018 10:01 ET (15:01 GMT)

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