U.S. appeals court blocks Anthem bid to merge with rival Cigna
A U.S. appeals court on Friday blocked health insurer Anthem Inc's (ANTM.N) bid to merge with Cigna (CI.N), upholding a lower court's decision that the $54 billion deal should not be allowed because it would lead to higher prices for healthcare.
The ruling will probably kill the proposed merger, which was opposed by the U.S. Justice Department, 11 states and a District Court judge after consumers, medical professionals and others objected to it. In the end, Cigna itself tried to back out.
Still, Anthem and Cigna have the option of trying to save the deal by asking the appeals court to re-consider the case or appealing straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Shares of Cigna closed Friday at $156.37, up 0.1 percent, while Anthem shares ended at $177.89, down 0.2 percent.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cigna-m-a-anthem-idUSKBN17U25A
