S&P puts Aetna on watch

S&P said it placed its ratings on Aetna Inc. and its subsidiaries on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The CreditWatch placement follows CVS Inc.'s announcement that it will acquire Aetna Inc. for $69 billion.

“We expect CVS to fund the deal with a mix of stock, cash, and debt. We believe Aetna's credit profile will be pressured by a deal involving a lower-rated corporate parent issuing a significant amount of new debt to support transaction financing while contending with potentially meaningful execution risk,” S&P said in a news release.

“The CreditWatch negative placement reflects the potential we could lower all of our ratings on the Aetna Inc. group by up to three notches, depending on our view of the overall group credit profile,” S&P added.

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