Aetna Inc's board of directors was meeting on Sunday to approve the US health insurer's sale to US drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp for approximately $207 per share in cash and stock, according to people familiar with the matter.
The $68 billion deal will be this year's largest corporate acquisition. It will combine one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and pharmacy operators with one of its oldest health insurers, whose far-reaching business ranges from employer healthcare to government plans nationwide. CVS plans to pay for the deal mostly with cash, but it will also use its own stock to pay for around 30 percent of the purchase price, the sources said. The announcement of the deal could come as early as Sunday, the sources added.