S&P Global Ratings downgraded its issuer credit rating on Hartford, Conn.-based health insurer Aetna Inc. to BBB/A-2 from A/A-1 and its financial strength and issuer credit rating on Aetna's operating subsidiaries to A- from AA-.
The ratings were also removed from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were initially placed on Dec. 4, 2017. The outlook is stable.
CVS Health Corp. received all necessary regulatory approvals to complete its acquisition of Aetna. The deal is expected to close on or about Nov. 28.
S&P said Aetna is being acquired by a lower-rated group that is taking on significant debt and integration risks. Aetna's operating subsidiaries are being assessed as insulated subsidiaries that will receive two notches of rating uplift from CVS' group credit profile of "bbb."
The agency expects Aetna's credit metrics to continue to support its stand-alone credit profile.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings document referred to in this brief can be found here.