[co-author: Cody Fierro, Law Clerk*]

On December 3, 2017, CVS Health, a giant in the retail pharmacy industry, announced plans to acquire Aetna. Aetna is one of the largest medical insurers in the nation, servicing approximately 46.7 million people. Under the proposed framework, CVS will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Aetna through a combination of cash and stock – $145.00 and 0.8378 of its own shares for each share of Aetna. After the transaction is complete, Aetna shareholders will own about 22% of the combined entity. The announced acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2018, if it receives the requisite approvals from shareholders and regulators.

As more information becomes publicly available, another blog will be posted to further analyze the proposed acquisition.

*Cody Fierro is a Law Clerk in the Corporate Practice Group at Sheppard Mullin.