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US: Judge accepts CVS offer, won’t block Aetna integration

By  |  January 2, 2019

Judge Richard Leon, who is currently scrutinizing CVS Health’s $69 billion buyout of Hartford health insurer Aetna, appeared to soften his stance on the pending merger shortly before Christmas, opting not to block most integration proceedings between the two companies while his investigation gets underway.

Reuters reported Saturday, December 22, that Judge Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, accepted an offer by CVS Health that would give Aetna a considerable amount of autonomy during the review process, including the power to make product, pricing, and personnel decisions. The concession was apparently enough to keep Leon from bringing all aspects of the merger to a complete halt.

“Based on CVS’s constructive and appropriate representations, I am satisfied that, so long as these measures remain in place, the assets involved in the challenged acquisition will remain sufficiently separate,” the judge wrote, according to the Reuters report.

Full Content: Reuters

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