Aetna Makes Takeover Proposal to Humana

Aetna Inc. has made a takeover proposal to Humana Inc., one of a number of recent moves by big health insurers to find merger partners.

Aetna in the last few days made the proposal, according to people familiar with the matter. It isn't clear how much Aetna indicated it would pay. Humana has a market value of $30 billion. The company hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help it field takeover interest, people familiar with the matter have said.

UnitedHealth Group Inc., meanwhile, recently made a takeover approach to Aetna. It isn't clear what, if any, Aetna's response was.

News of the Aetna proposal comes the same day Anthem Inc., another of the five big managed-care companies, said it boosted its takeover offer for Cigna Corp. Anthem went public with the bid after the two sides failed to reach agreement, and is seeking to put pressure on Cigna through Cigna shareholders.

Anthem offered $184 a share for Cigna, or about $47.5 billion.

Cigna itself is eyeing Humana, people familiar with the matter have said.

The five big managed-care companies are jockeying for deals that will enable them to get more efficient and better respond to changes in the health care landscape in the U.S. brought on by the Affordable Care Act and other developments.

Write to Dana Mattioli at [e-mail] and Liz Hoffman at [e-mail]

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