To ease antitrust concerns, the Connecticut-based Aetna Inc. has created an auction to sell a portfolio of Medicare Advantage assets.
Reuter reports that Aetna is seeking antitrust approval for its proposed $37 billion acquisition of the Louisville-based Humana Inc. The merger would make the combined company the largest manager of health care insurance for seniors and the disabled in the United States.
Aetna will begin collecting bids as soon as next week, according to the report. The company’s assets to be sold will likely be valued in the $1 billion range.
The process could take “several months,” Reuters reports, and it isn’t certain whether Aetna will secure all of the necessary approvals for the deal with Humana even if the assets are sold.
On June 24, Aetna and Humana filed 8-K forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that pushed the deadline to close the deal to Dec. 31, 2016.
The U.S. Department has been keeping its eye on the deal, which has been heavily scrutinized. It’s happening at the same time as the proposed mega-merger between Cigna Corp. and Anthem Inc. The health insurance market would shrink from five major insurers to three if both mergers are completed.
Date: July 05, 2016