Cigna CEO, Board Sued for ‘Black Ops’ Effort to Kill Anthem Deal
- Investors accuse insurer of campaign to ruin $48 billion union
- Pension fund claims ‘Trojan Horse’ operation cost shareholders
Cigna Corp.’s chief executive officer and board used “black-ops style” tactics in a covert campaign to “blow up” a $48 billion merger with rival insurer Anthem Inc., Cigna investors claim in a lawsuit.
A Massachusetts-based pension fund alleges that Cigna CEO David Cordani sought to “poison” the deal after failing to secure the top post in the merged company. He hired lawyers and public relations specialists to help in a “Trojan Horse” campaign, the fund claims. The deal, which would have created the largest U.S. health insurer, collapsed in 2017.
“The board supported his sabotage and placed Cordani’s personal interests over the best interests of the company” in order “to protect their jobs at the expense of shareholders,” according to the lawsuit, filed under seal on Nov. 17 in Delaware Chancery Court and made public on Monday.
Representatives of Cigna, based in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Indianapolis-based Anthem didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment on the suit.