Aetna to Buy Coventry for $5.6 Billion to Add Medicare Plans

Aetna Inc. (AET)

C

oventry Health Care Inc. (CVH)

, the third-biggest U.S. health plan, agreed to buy for about $5.6 billion to increase its share of government business following President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul.

Aetna will pay $42.08 a share for Bethesda, Maryland-based Coventry, including $27.30 in cash and 0.3885 Aetna share, the companies said today in a statement. That represents a 20 percent premium over Coventry’s closing price of $34.94 on Aug. 17, which gave the company a market value of $4.68 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $7.3 billion.

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Source: Bloomberg