NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 28, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that CVS Health Corp.'s (BBB/Stable/A-2) completion of the Aetna Inc. acquisition marks the beginning of an ambitious journey to integrate two distinct companies operating in the health care and drug store retailing industries. CVS issued about $45 billion in debt to finance the $69 billion Aetna transaction, with the remaining amount funded with cash and common equity. We previously lowered our issuer credit rating on CVS one notch (to 'BBB') as a result of prospective credit metrics. Higher debt levels contributed to pro forma leverage of about 4.5x, and we do not expect future leverage to return to pre-acquisition levels (under 3x) in the next two years. Critical
