CVS to Keep Aetna in Hartford, Conn. -- 3rd Update
January 12 2018 - 06:33PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph De Avila
CVS Health Corp. has decided to keep Aetna Inc. in Hartford,
Conn., reversing the insurer's plan announced last year to move its
corporate headquarters to New York City.
"We have no plans to relocate Aetna's operations from Hartford,"
CVS spokesman David Palombi said, adding that the company had met
with Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin
on Thursday.
The planned move was put on hold after CVS's December
announcement that it would buy Aetna for $69 billion. Aetna said at
the time the merger was announced that all of its locations would
be evaluated as part of its integration with CVS.
Once the merger is complete, Hartford will be considered the
"corporate hub" for the insurance business, rather than Aetna's
headquarters, Mr. Palombi said. CVS will maintain its corporate
headquarters in Rhode Island.
The reversal is a win for Connecticut, which has lost other
corporate residents in recent years and has been struggling with
budget shortfalls and declining population. The city of Hartford is
in its own financial straits, relying on state aid to balance its
budget.
"I'm thrilled that CVS has confirmed that Aetna will continue to
call Hartford home," Mr. Malloy said.
At the time that Aetna announced its decision to leave Hartford,
where it has been based since 1853, the insurer said it chose to
move to New York to tap a more robust pool of talent as it sought
to reposition itself as a consumer-oriented health company.
Earlier this week, New York City said it was shelving a $9.6
million incentive package offered to Aetna, citing the uncertainty
caused by the merger. Empire State Development, New York state's
economic development arm, also had offered the insurer $24 million
in performance-based tax credits to open the office in the
city.
The insurer had planned to move into a 170,000-square-foot
Chelsea building developed by Vornado Realty Trust and Aurora
Capital Associates, where it had signed a lease.
An Aetna spokesman said Friday that the company is still
reviewing which locations it will keep, and whether it will open
some sort of office in New York.
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2018 18:18 ET (23:18 GMT)
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