San Diego, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/21/2017 -- The Shareholders Foundation announces that a deadline is coming up on March 27, 2017 in the lawsuit filed for investors of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) over alleged securities laws violations by Aetna Inc.

Investors who purchased shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) have certain options and there are strict and short deadlines running. Deadline: March 27, 2017. NYSE:AET stockholders should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call 858-779-1554.

According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) common shares between August 15, 2016 and January 20, 2017, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws. More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between August 15, 2016 and January 20, 2017 the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose thatthe Company and its senior executives attempted to leverage Aetna's participation in the Public Exchanges for favorable treatment from regulators regarding the Humana acquisition, that the Company threatened to limit its participation in public health insurance exchanges if the Department of Justice ("DOJ") attempted to block the merger, that Aetna did not withdraw from certain public health insurance exchanges for business reasons as Defendants claimed, but to follow through on its threat of leaving the marketplace once the DOJ filed suit and to improve its litigation position, that Aetna withdrew from public health insurance exchanges that were profitable for the Company, and that as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' statements about Aetna's business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

On July 2, 2015, Aetna Inc entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Humana Inc. ("Humana") in a transaction valued at approximately $37 billion (the "Humana Acquisition")

On July 21, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ"), eight states, and the District of Columbia filed a civil complaint against Aetna Inc and Humana in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asserting that the proposed Acquisition of Humana Inc by Aetna Inc would violate antitrust laws and seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the acquisition from moving forward. One of the main issues raised by the DOJ was Aetna Inc and Humana's commitment to the Affordable Care Act's Public Exchanges. According to the DOJ, the proposed merger would lead to a loss of competition on the public exchanges in 17 counties in Georgia, Missouri, and Florida, counties in which Aetna Inc and Humana both compete.

On August 15, 2016, less than one month after the DOJ filed suit, Aetna's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), Mark T. Bertolini ("Bertolini"), announced that Aetna Inc would withdraw its participation in 11 of its 15 state Public Exchanges beginning in 2017, including the Company's participation in the 17 counties identified by the DOJ.

Shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) grew from $66.76 per share in February 2014 to as high as $133.49 per share in December 2016.

However, the plaintiff claims that nevertheless, between August 15, 2016 and January 20, 2017, the defendants informed investors that their decision to withdraw Aetna from multiple Public Exchanges was purely a business decision aimed at reducing financial losses.

On January 23, 2017, Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered a Memorandum Opinion enjoining the proposed merger between Aetna Inc and Humana after finding, inter alia, that Aetna's senior executives "did not view withdrawing from the 17 compliant counties as a business decision," but rather as a way of improving Aetna Inc's litigation position. The court also noted that Aetna Inc "tried to leverage its participation in the exchanges for favorable treatment from DOJ regarding the proposed merger" by threatening to reduce its Public Exchange participation in 2017 and beyond if the "DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction."

Those who purchased shares of Aetna Inc have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation.

Contact:
Shareholders Foundation, Inc.
Michael Daniels
3111 Camino Del Rio North - Suite 423
92108 San Diego
Phone: +1-(858)-779-1554
Fax: +1-(858)-605-5739
mail@shareholdersfoundation.com