Aetna, ING Discuss Sale of Financial Unit

Aetna Inc. is in talks on the sale of its financial services and international businesses to Dutch insurer ING Groep, the companies said. The talks come more than two months after Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna broke off discussions to sell the entire company to ING and Wellpoint Health Networks Inc. for $10 billion, or $70 a share. Aetna directors said the company was worth more and voted in March to split its health-care and financial services businesses into two publicly traded companies. ING Groep, seeking to become one of the top 10 U.S. insurance companies, said it was still interested in a transaction with Aetna. ING will become the second-largest foreign insurer in the U.S. with its $6.1-billion takeover of Minneapolis-based ReliaStar Financial Corp. announced May 1. Still, the company will rank only 18th among all U.S. insurers. The Aetna statement came after the close of U.S. markets. Shares in Aetna, the nation’s largest health insurer, rose $4.06, or 6%, to close at $66.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.