Anthem Wins Bid to Block Cigna From Dumping $48 Billion Deal

  • Judge temporarily bars Cigna from stopping insurers’ merger
  • Cigna sought to back out after federal judge blocked deal
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Anthem Inc. won a court ruling temporarily blocking Cigna Corp. from scuttling a $48 billion merger between the health insurers.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster concluded Wednesday Cigna executives couldn’t summarily pull out of the combination after a federal judge last week blocked the merger of the insurers as anti-competitive. He found a temporary ban would protect the “legal status quo” of the deal until he could weigh arguments over the faltering merger at an April 10 hearing.