Anthem to Buy Cigna to Create Largest U.S. Health Insurer
Anthem (ANTM) said Friday it would buy Cigna (CI) in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership.
The deal -- the biggest ever in the health insurance industry -- comes three weeks after Aetna (AET) agreed to buy Humana (HUM) for $37 billion and is part of an industry-wide consolidation following the roll-out of President Barack Obama's health care law.
Antitrust authorities are expected to aggressively scrutinize how the combinations will affect competition for Medicare and individual and commercial insurance.
When you go from four to three national players, that creates a significant issue.
By most measures, U.S. insurance markets are extremely concentrated. That means companies could have trouble selling assets if forced to do so by antitrust regulators.
Anthem said it expects the deal to close in the second half of 2016, indicating a long regulatory road ahead.
