Aetna And Humana End Merger Deal After 19 Months

Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. announced Tuesday a mutual agreement to terminate their merger deal, after a U.S. District Court granted the Department of Justice's request to block the $34 billion deal announced in July 2015. As a result, Aetna will pay Humana a $1 billion merger termination fee. Aetna will also terminate its agreement to sell certain Medicare Advantage assets to Molina Healthcare Inc. , and will pay Molina the agreed upon fees. "While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for health care consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction," said Aetna Chief Executive Mark Bertolini. Shares of Aetna and Humana were still inactive in premarket trade. Aetna's stock has lost 1.6% over the past three months, while Humana shares have gained 4% and the S&P 500 has climbed 7.6%.

Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.