Aetna, CVS shareholders OK takeover
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Shareholders of Aetna Inc. and CVS Health Corp. on Tuesday approved the Woonsocket, R.I., pharmacy giant's $69 billion acquisition of the Hartford health insurer.
The deal, announced in December, must still be approved by regulators.
CVS stockholders voted to approve the shares of company stock to be issued in the deal, CVS said.
According to preliminary results, more than 98 percent of CVS shares that voted favored the proposal. If approved by regulators, the deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Aetna said about 97 percent of the votes cast and more than 77 percent of the 326.9 million shares entitled to vote agreed to the deal.
Aetna shareholders will receive $145 in cash and 0.8378 of a CVS Health share for each Aetna share, which was valued at $207.94 on Dec. 1, the Friday before the deal was announced.
Leerink Research analyst Ana Gupte said in a client note that winning approval from the U.S. Department of Justice "is likely to be more challenged" following last week's announcement of another large deal, the purchase by Cigna Corp. of Express Scripts Holding Co. for $67 billion.
-- Tribune News Service
Toys R Us misses payments to vendors
WAYNE, N.J. -- Toys R Us has missed payments to some suppliers in recent days as its U.S. division heads toward a likely liquidation, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The payments stopped without explanation, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Some of them said they can't get anyone to respond to questions at the retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in September and faces a $5 billion debt load.
Toys R Us also recently stopped negotiating settlements with vendors on money owed before it filed for bankruptcy, some of the sources said. A representative for Wayne, N.J.-based Toys R Us declined to comment.
The bleak situation lends evidence to the notion that Toys R Us is moving toward winding down its U.S. operations for good. Bloomberg reported last week that the retailer was making preparations for a liquidation of its domestic business.
The company has failed to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, leaving it with few options, people familiar with the situation said at the time. A hearing in bankruptcy court is scheduled to be held on Thursday, after being delayed.
-- Bloomberg News
$1.5B settles modified-corn lawsuit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A $1.5 billion settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit covering tens of thousands of farmers, grain-handling facilities and ethanol plants that sued Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta over its introduction of a genetically engineered corn seed.
Lawsuits in state and federal courts challenged Syngenta's decision to introduce the genetically modified organisms, the Viptera and Duracade corn seed strains, to the U.S. market for the 2011 growing season before having approval for import by China in 2014. The plaintiffs said Syngenta's decision cut off access to the large Chinese corn market and caused price drops for several years.
The settlement, reached Monday, must be approved by a federal judge in Kansas. It will create a fund to pay claims to farmers and others who contracted to price corn or corn byproducts after Sept. 15, 2013. If approved, money could be distributed to class members in the first half of 2019.
The agribusiness giant contended that corn prices dropped because of market forces, not China's rejection of Viptera. Most of the farmers suing Syngenta didn't grow Viptera or Duracade, but China rejected millions of tons of their grain because elevators and shippers mix grain from several suppliers, making it impossible to find corn free of the trait.
-- The Associated Press
EPA, California to face off over fuel rules
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's chief environmental regulator signaled a coming showdown with California, warning the state won't dictate the future of ambitious automobile fuel economy regulations enacted by former President Barack Obama's administration.
"California is not the arbiter of these issues," said Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator. California regulates greenhouse-gas emissions at the state level, "but that shouldn't and can't dictate to the rest of the country what these levels are going to be."
The EPA faces an April 1 deadline to decide whether Obama-era corporate average fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks from 2022 to 2025 are attainable or should be revised. Trump's administration already tossed the EPA's conclusion that no changes are needed, issued by the agency during Obama's final weeks in the White House.
-- Bloomberg News
U.S. Steel raises outlook as tariffs near
PITTSBURGH -- U.S. Steel Corp. raised its 2018 earnings outlook as it restarts a furnace and as metal prices rise in the wake of President Donald Trump's order to slap tariffs on steel imports.
The Pittsburgh company said it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $1.7 billion because of the Section 232 tariffs decision and increased shipments from its Granite City Works plant in Illinois. In its fourth-quarter earnings report released in January, U.S. Steel forecast this year's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization at $1.5 billion.
"The company expects the benefits from these actions will be primarily reflected in our results in the second half of the year, as recent price changes become more fully realized for spot and contract volumes, and shipments increase from Granite City Works," U.S. Steel said in a statement Monday.
-- Bloomberg News
Business on 03/14/2018