A federal judge on Friday said he would accept CVS Health Corp.’s offer to keep certain aspects of its newly acquired Aetna unit’s operations separate for now, stopping short of an earlier suggestion that he might order the company to halt its integration efforts.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., had previously voiced concerns about the companies’ settlement with Justice Department antitrust enforcers, which allowed the drugstore giant to move forward with its nearly $70 billion deal for the insurer. He must decide whether to approve the settlement.
In an order released Friday, the judge said he would accept conditions proposed by CVS, which would remain in place while he weighs whether the antitrust settlement is in the public interest. That review process could take six months or longer.
He didn’t require that an outside monitor be brought in to ensure the company lives up to its commitments.
CVS had argued that halting all integration would cause irreparable harm to the company and its customers. Instead, it offered measures it said would help facilitate Judge Leon’s review. For instance, CVS pledged that Aetna would maintain its historical control over pricing of products and services for its insurance customers, and that CVS and Aetna wouldn’t exchange competitively sensitive information for now.
A CVS spokesman declined to comment on the judge’s order.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.