LONDON (ShareCast) - US health insurer Aetna Inc has agreed to take over rival Humana Inc for roughly $37bn, capping off a frantic week of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the sector.
Hertford, Connecticut-based Atena will pay about $230 per share, a 23% premium to the stock's closing price on Thursday, in a cash-and-stock deal for its Louisville, Kentucky-headquartered peer.

Sector rumour-mongers had been citing Aetna as a possible target for Minneapolis-headquartered UnitedHealth, indicating the deal may yet be derailed.

Humana shareholders will receive $125 in cash and 0.8375 Aetna shares for each share held and following the deal, Aetna's shareholders would own about 74% of the combined company.

This follows Thursday's agreement by fellow health insurer Centene to acquire rival Health Net for $6.3bn, while reports also suggested Anthem and Cigna had met for merger talks.



Companies in the health insurance sector are looking to capitalise on the booming market, having benefited from a surge of new business as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act pushed previously uninsured people into paying for protection.

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