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BUSINESS
Health insurance

Reports: Aetna close to $34 billion Humana deal

John Riley
USA TODAY
A sign for Aetna insurance is seen in Hartford, Conn.

Potentially continuing the record consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry, insurer Aetna is near an agreement to buy rival Humana in a deal worth about $34 billion in cash and stock, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and other media reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

Aetna would reportedly pay roughly $230 a share for the smaller Humana, which is the second-largest provider of private Medicare insurance -- a booming business with the rapidly aging U.S. population.

The proposed deal, which has not been finalized, could come as soon as Thursday night, the reports said. Humana's stock closed Thursday at $187.50, and only rose slightly in after-hours trading -- far below the reported $230-a-share price tag on Aetna's offer.

If the deal happens, it would continue the consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry, which in the first six months of the year had a record $296 billion in deals announced, according to Dealogic.

The industry got a boost last week when the Supreme Court upheld a part of the Obama adminstration's Affordable Care Act, which has significantly increased the number of Americans covered by health insurance.

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