CVS ‘moving forward’ with Aetna deal as profit rises

Bloomberg

CVS Health Corp. said it’s making progress in the regulatory review of its $68 billion deal to buy health insurer Aetna Inc. after first-quarter earnings came in higher than analysts anticipated.
Both CVS and rival Express Scripts Holding Co. are trying to get their mega mergers approved by regulators, as drug middlemen combine with large insurers in the US to offer a larger suite of medical services under one roof. The two deals are being reviewed by the Justice Department.
“We are moving forward on both the regulatory and integration planning fronts in support of a close in the second half of this year and a smooth, efficient integration of operati-
ons,” CVS CEO Larry Merlo said in a statement on Wednesday.
Earnings were were $1.48 a share, excluding some items, CVS said, compared with the $1.41 average of 20 analysts’ predictions compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 2.6 percent to $45.7 billion, in line with the $45.8 billion average of estimates. CVS’s proposed takeover of Aetna would bring together around 10,000 CVS stores and the health insurer’s 22 million customers. A central plank of the deal is transforming the stores into health hubs where consumers can get care, pick up their drugs, buy some cosmetics, and stay out of the hospital. In a sign of its ambition, last month, CVS hired a senior executive from a startup that specialises in primary-care clini-cs to oversee expanded health-care
services across the company.