Nation’s third-largest domestic provider of Employee Assistance
Programs by membership
Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that it has entered into an agreement
to acquire Horizon Behavioral Services, LLC. Headquartered in
Lewisville, Texas, Horizon Behavioral Services is a leading provider of
Employee Assistance Programs to many mid-sized and large employers.
The purchase price is approximately $70 million. Aetna expects to
finance the transaction from available cash. The transaction is subject
to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust
approval and applicable regulatory approvals in California.
Aetna will acquire Horizon Behavioral Services from its parent company,
Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSYS) the nation’s largest operator
of owned or leased freestanding psychiatric inpatient facilities.
Horizon Behavioral Services is the third-largest domestic provider of
EAP services by membership with approximately 1,400 contracted employer
clients representing over 5 million covered employees in all 50 states
and countries around the globe. The company provides unlimited 24/7
confidential telephonic consultation, comprehensive online employee
assistance program and work/life resources and access to a referral
network of more than 14,000 licensed clinicians. Horizon’s clients
include publicly and privately held companies, including Fortune 500
companies, government agencies, and various not-for-profit entities such
as hospital systems.
“We believe this acquisition will significantly enhance Aetna's ability
to provide a greater variety of EAP services to our customers and will
position Aetna as a key player in the domestic EAP business,” said
Louise Murphy, vice president and head of Behavioral Health. “Horizon
Behavioral Services is a strong addition to Aetna’s EAP business which
we believe adds value and provides customers with another reason to
select Aetna.”
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits
companies, serving approximately 36.8 million people with information
and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their
health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and
consumer-directed health insurance products and related services,
including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and
disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care
management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer
groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers,
health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor
groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and
Aetna's Annual Report at www.aetna.com/2008annualreport.
Aetna Media Contact:
Fred Laberge, 860-273-4788
labergear@Aetna.com
or
Aetna
Investor Contact:
Jeffrey A Chaffkin, 860-273-7830
ChaffkinJA@Aetna.com
