Lawsuit for Investors in Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) Shares Announced by Shareholders Foundation

SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2017 / The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. announces that a lawsuit was filed for certain purchasers of shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) over alleged Securities Laws Violations by Aetna Inc.

Investors, who purchased shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET), have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 – 1554.

The plaintiff alleges that the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that the Company and its senior executives attempted to leverage Aetna’s participation in the Public Exchanges for favorable treatment from regulators regarding the Humana acquisition, that the Company threatened to limit its participation in public health insurance exchanges if the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) attempted to block the merger, that Aetna did not withdraw from certain public health insurance exchanges for business reasons as Defendants claimed, but to follow through on its threat of leaving the marketplace once the DOJ filed suit and to improve its litigation position, that Aetna withdrew from public health insurance exchanges that were profitable for the Company, and that as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ statements about Aetna’s business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

On July 2, 2015, Aetna Inc entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Humana Inc. (“Humana”) in a transaction valued at approximately $37 billion (the “Humana Acquisition”).

On July 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), eight states, and the District of Columbia filed a civil complaint against Aetna Inc and Humana in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asserting that the proposed Acquisition of Humana Inc by Aetna Inc would violate antitrust laws and seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the acquisition from moving forward. One of the main issues raised by the DOJ was Aetna Inc and Humana’s commitment to the Affordable Care Act’s Public Exchanges. According to the DOJ, the proposed merger would lead to a loss of competition on the public exchanges in 17 counties in Georgia, Missouri, and Florida, counties in which Aetna Inc and Humana both compete.

On August 15, 2016, less than one month after the DOJ filed suit, Aetna’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Mark T. Bertolini (“Bertolini”), announced that Aetna Inc would withdraw its participation in 11 of its 15 state Public Exchanges beginning in 2017, including the Company’s participation in the 17 counties identified by the DOJ.

However, the plaintiff claims that nevertheless, the defendants informed investors that their decision to withdraw Aetna from multiple Public Exchanges was purely a business decision aimed at reducing financial losses.

On January 23, 2017, a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered a Memorandum Opinion enjoining the proposed merger between Aetna Inc and Humana after finding, inter alia, that Aetna’s senior executives “did not view withdrawing from the 17 compliant counties as a business decision,” but rather as a way of improving Aetna Inc’s litigation position. The court also noted that Aetna Inc “tried to leverage its participation in the exchanges for favorable treatment from DOJ regarding the proposed merger” by threatening to reduce its Public Exchange participation in 2017 and beyond if the “DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction.”

Those who purchased Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) shares should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc.

The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. is a professional portfolio legal monitoring and a settlement claim filing service, which does research related to shareholder issues and informs investors of securities class actions, settlements, judgments, and other legal related news to the stock/financial market. The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. is not a law firm. The information is provided as a public service. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon.

CONTACT:

Shareholders Foundation, Inc.

Michael Daniels

+1 (858) 779-1554

mail@shareholdersfoundation.com

3111 Camino Del Rio North

Suite 423

San Diego, CA 92108

SOURCE: Shareholders Foundation, Inc.

ReleaseID: 454449