The Trump administration isn’t ready to sign off on a proposed merger between CVS Health and Aetna.
The Department of Justice has asked the pharmacy chain and the health-care giant to provide more information on the proposed $69 billion deal.
{mosads}”CVS Health and Aetna have been cooperating with the DOJ staff since shortly after the announcement of the Merger Agreement and are continuing to cooperate with the DOJ staff in its review of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement,” the companies said in a Thursday federal securities filing.
The companies still expect the merger to go through in the second half of the year. It’s not clear what information the Justice Department is asking for exactly, but such requests are common.
The request extends the waiting period on the deal for 30 days.
The proposed merger is fairly uncontroversial, compared to past proposals.
The Justice Department under the Obama administration sued to block a merger between Aetna and Humana, arguing it would reduce competition.
But the proposed merger between CVS Health and Aetna is considered to be a vertical one — a merger between two companies that aren’t direct competitors.
The companies argue the relationship would bring down health costs.