Cigna-Express Scripts deal gathering support in DOJ antitrust process
Cigna’s $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts is looking good after 14 of the 29 states necessary to approve the deal have cleared it.
Cigna announced that 14 state regulators had approved the deal, which is undergoing an antitrust regulatory process, in a public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.
“Currently, Cigna has received approvals from 14 states. Approvals from 15 additional states are conditions to closing the transaction,” the filing states.
Cigna executives have been bullish that the deal will close with regulatory approval despite some opposition to the merger, which brings together a major national health insurance provider and one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBM).
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, recently asked the U.S. Department of Justice to heighten scrutiny over major healthcare deals in the market currently. Another major PBM, CVS Health, is also acquiring insurance provider Aetna for $69 billion, and has faced a number of opposition voices. Critics of the mega-deals say the transactions will limit market competition, raise drug prices and potentially harm patients.
Furthermore, activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns a less than 5 percent stake in Cigna, initially opposed the deal and blasted the valuation in a public letter to shareholders. The deal was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders on August 24.
With roughly half of regulators behind the deal, Cigna anticipates it will close by year-end 2018, dramatically reshaping the healthcare marketplace.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."