Ruling on Anthem-Cigna merger won’t come until Jan. 2017

Anthem can expect a ruling on the antitrust case against its proposed $54 billion takeover of Cigna sometime in January 2017, past the end-of-year timeframe it had requested.

U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson Berman said in an Aug. 12 hearing the trial will begin Nov. 21, arguing Anthem’s requested timeline was too soon, while the February 2017 start date requested by the U.S. Department of Justice was unnecessarily delayed.

“My current thinking is that I'm going to aim for a decision by the end of January," Berman said.

Such a ruling would come well before the April 30, 2017, deadline to close the deal in the merger agreement between Anthem and Cigna. Anthem had argued it needed 120 days to gain necessary approval from state insurance regulators.

Anthem’s haste to get to trial is driven in part by concerns Cigna will back out of the deal if given the chance. According to the Wall Street Journal, Jackson commented several times on the bizarre situation” of an insurer wanting to fast track a decision “for the benefit of a merger that may not be desired.”

Cigna attorney Charles Rule said the company is committed to the merger agreement, but wouldn’t speculate as to what Cigna’s board members may do if the deadline passes. Anthem lawyer Chris Curran reiterated the insurer’s worry that Cigna would opt out of the deal after April 30, 2017, being able to collect a $1.85 billion break-up fee in the process.

“We do take the position that that April 30 date is fixed,” Curran said.

Adding another wrinkle to the case were comments from DOJ attorney Jon Jacobs that the government is open to discussing a settlement. Bloomberg pointed out it’s common for the DOJ to say it’s willing to entertain settlement offers, but that is no guarantee an arrangement will be made.

Absent any settlement agreement, the trial schedule for Anthem means a decision could come around the same time as the ruling in the antitrust case surrounding the Aetna-Humana merger. U.S. District Judge John Bates, who passed off the Anthem case to expedite a decision on both mergers, said the Aetna-Humana trial will begin Dec. 5, with the expectation he’ll issue his opinion by mid-January 2017.