CVS to buy Aetna for $69B

CVS Health said Sunday that it had agreed to buy Aetna for about $69 billion in a deal that would combine the drugstore giant with one of the biggest health insurers in the United States and has the potential to reshape the U.S. health care industry.

The transaction, one of the largest of the year, reflects the increasingly blurred lines between traditionally separate spheres in the world of health care.

Under the terms of the deal, CVS will pay about $207 a share, based on Friday’s closing prices. Roughly $145 a share of that would be in cash, with the remainder in newly issued CVS stock.

The merger could position the combined entity as a formidable force in a changing health care landscape as

many of the players attempt to lower the high cost of medical care. Together, the two companies touch most of the basic health services that people regularly use, meaning the deal could offer some benefits to consumers.

CVS operates a chain of pharmacies and retail clinics that could be used by Aetna to deliver care directly to patients, while the merged company could be better able to offer employers one-stop shopping for health insurance for their workers. But the deal also risks leaving consumers with less choice of where to get care or fill a prescription if people with Aetna insurance are forced to go to CVS for much of their care.

One of the biggest drivers of the deal is Amazon, which has been rumored to be preparing for an entry into the United States’ pharmacy business. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon chief executive, and his e-commerce juggernaut have already overturned many industries: book buying, retail shopping, groceries and Hollywood, using fierce customer loyalty and enormous reach as cudgels against incumbent players.

With that in mind, the leaders of CVS Health and Aetna met several times this year for conversations that eventually turned into negotiations.

The two companies emphasized their ability to transform CVS’s 10,000 pharmacy and clinic locations into a community-based site of care that would be far less expensive for patients.

‘‘We think of it as creating a new front door to health care in America,’’ CVS Health’s chief executive, Larry J. Merlo, said in an interview.

By establishing a new way of delivering care, “We know we can make health care more affordable and less expensive,” he said.