Aetna Inc. gained in New York trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that CVS Health Corp. is in talks to buy the insurer for more than $66 billion.
Aetna jumped 12 percent to $178.60, closing at a record high, while CVS fell 2.9 percent to $73.31. Spokesmen for Aetna and CVS declined to comment. CVS has offered to buy Aetna for more than $200 a share, the paper said.
A deal would create a health-services giant and a bigger competitor for UnitedHealth Group Inc., which is the largest U.S. health insurer and has its own own clinics and a pharmacy-benefits unit. CVS runs drugstores and clinics, helps insurers manage their pharmacy benefits, and already sells a pharmacy-insurance plan for older people, known as Medicare Part D. The company has a market value of about $75 billion, while Aetna was valued at about $53 billion before surging on the Journal's report.
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