A Medicare exchange company — Extend Health Inc. — has agreed to sell itself to Towers Watson & Company (NYSE:TW) rather than go ahead with efforts to sell stock to the public through an initial public offering (IPO).
Towers Watson, New York, will pay about $435 million for Extend Health, San Mateo, Calif., the companies say.
The companies hope to close on the deal within 60 days.
Employers that want to back away from offering traditional, fully employer-paid retiree health plans can use the Extend Health ExtendRetiree exchange to steer retirees toward other options.
Retirees can use the exchange to shop for Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplement and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans from a list of about 75 regional and national carriers.