Economics
After Two Megadeals Blocked, Health Insurers Plot Next Moves
- Anthem’s bid for Cigna blocked by judge as anticompetitive
- Cigna and Anthem may next fight over potential breakup fee
Anthem's $48 Billion Cigna Bid Denied as Anticompetitive
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After 18 months of courtship and court cases, two massive deals that would have reshaped the U.S. health insurance industry have both been declared dead, blocked by judges who said they’d do unacceptable harm to competition in the industry.
Now, the companies are right back where they started. Anthem Inc.’s $48 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp. was blocked by a federal judge late Wednesday, weeks after another judge halted Aetna Inc.’s bid for Humana Inc. Anthem filed a notice of appeal on Thursday, and Aetna and Humana have said they’re still deciding whether to appeal.