CVS now expects Aetna deal to close after Thanksgiving

(Reuters) - CVS Health Corp said on Tuesday that it expects to close its $69 billion purchase of health insurer Aetna Inc after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday as two states continue to review the transaction. The pharmacy chain and benefits manager had previously expected the transaction to close by the Nov. 22 holiday. CVS said in a regulatory filing https://bit.ly/2Kk8PSf that it had received required approvals from 26 of the 28 state departments of insurance and was in the final stages of the approval process with the two remaining states. Earlier this month, CVS told Wall Street that it had five pending approvals, including in New York and California. California's insurance regulator last week approved the purchase with a settlement under which the companies agreed to $240 million in payments related to the state's health care delivery system. A spokesman for the New York State Department of Financial Services said on Tuesday that its review of the transaction is in process, with one additional state also still to sign off. (Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Caroline Humer in New York; editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Bill Berkrot)