Aetna to buy Coventry for $5.2B in cash, stock

8/21/2012

HARTFORD -- Aetna Inc. claimed a bigger stake in the burgeoning market for government-funded coverage Monday when it announced plans to buy Coventry Health Care ticker symbol, a leading provider of Medicaid and Medicare coverage for $5.7 billion.

Aetna now has about 700,000 Ohio members. It is the nation's third-largest health insurer based on enrollment, trailing only UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint. Coventry, a smaller insurer, is one of the leading providers of both Medicaid and Medicare-based coverage.

Aetna will pay $42.08 in cash and stock for each share of Coventry stock. Coventry closed Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at $42.04, up, $7.10.