Now that Aetna's planned move from Connecticut to New York City is off, could a move to join future parent company CVS in Rhode Island be on? Neither company is discussing the possibility publicly, but Rhode Island economic development officials appear to like the idea.
Now that Aetna's planned move from Connecticut to New York City is off, could a move to join future parent company CVS in Rhode Island be on?
Neither company is discussing the possibility publicly, but Rhode Island economic development officials appear to like the idea, even if they won't describe what they are doing to make it happen.
Asked if the state was pitching either company on bringing more workers to Rhode Island, state Commerce Corporation spokesman Matt Sheaff on Thursday offered this cryptic statement:
“While we don’t comment on our potential business attraction and recruitment efforts — have you ever seen this Administration not take an opportunity to bring more jobs home to Rhode Island?"
In June, Hartford-based Aetna announced that it was moving its headquarters to New York City, where it had secured financial incentives worth an estimated $35 million over 10 years from the state and city.
But last month, Woonsocket-based CVS struck a deal to buy Aetna for $69 billion, throwing the relocation plans into doubt.
And on Wednesday, Crains New York Business reported that New York City had canceled a $9.6-million piece of that package because the relocation would not be happening.
Asked about the possibility of moving parts of the insurance business to Rhode Island, CVS spokesman Michal DeAngelis offered this statement:
"While CVS will continue to be headquartered in Rhode Island, as you may know we also operate a number of large corporate hubs in other states, including Arizona, Illinois and Texas. Aetna’s locations will be evaluated as part of our integration process, but we have no announcement regarding a relocation of their large insurance operation in Hartford."
Pending approval of federal regulators, the CVS-Aetna merger is expected to close in the second half of the year.
"As previously stated, all Aetna locations will be evaluated as part of the integration planning process," Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford wrote in an email. "We have nothing additional to share at this time."
— panderson@providencejournal.com
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