Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. said they have a provisional agreement to sell some of their assets to rival Molina Healthcare Inc. in an effort to get U.S. antitrust regulators to approve their $37 billion merger.
The transactions are subject to the successful completion of Aetna’s acquisition of Humana, as well as other regulatory approvals. Molina would pay $117 million in cash in the two transactions, gaining private Medicare plans that cover about 290,000 people in 21 states, Aetna and Humana said Monday in a statement.
Aetna’s planned purchase of Humana for $37 billion, along with Anthem’s $48 billion takeover of Cigna, would consolidate the five biggest U.S. health insurers into three companies. The Justice Department sued last month to block both deals, saying they would raise costs and diminish choices for consumers.
Aetna separately reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as the health insurer cut the proportion of revenue spent on operations. Earnings excluding certain items were $2.21 a share, Hartford, Connecticut-based Aetna said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts had estimated $2.12 a share on average.