New York City has shelved the $9.6 million incentive package offered to Aetna Inc. (AET), which is re-evaluating whether to move its headquarters to New York.

        Aetna said in June last year that it would move its headquarters and 250 jobs to New York from Hartford, Connecticut. However, those plans were shelved after CVS Health Corp. (CVS) announced in December that it would acquire Aetna for $69 billion. When the merger was announced, Aetna said all of its office locations would be evaluated as part of the merger with CVS.

        An Aetna spokesperson said Wednesday that the evaluation is under way.

        New York City said that, because of the uncertainty, it has not moved forward with the formal approval process to finalise the $9.6 million incentive package announced last year.

        A spokesperson for the city's Economic Development Corp. said the proposed aid package cannot move forward at this time.

        A spokesperson for Empire State Development Corporation, New York State's economic development agency, said its proposed $24 million in performance-based tax credits remains valid. Aetna must meet and maintain job count and investment requirements before the government delivers the corresponding tax credits, the spokesperson said.

Source: National Business Daily  2018-01-12