(Bloomberg) — Anthem Inc. struck a deal to buy rival Cigna Corp. for $48.4 billion, wrapping up almost a year of contentious negotiations and potentially creating the largest health insurer in the U.S.
Anthem will pay $188 a share in cash and stock for Cigna, based on Anthem's May 28 closing share price, the Indianapolis- based insurer said Friday in a statement. That's 22 percent more than Cigna's closing price on Thursday. The deal combines the second- and fourth-biggest insurers in the U.S., measured by members.
The acquisition extends a wave of consolidation sweeping over the health-care industry, potentially reducing the ranks of the biggest insurers from five to three. Aetna Inc. agreed to buy Humana Inc. for $35 billion earlier this month, a day after Centene Corp. struck a $6.3 billion deal for Health Net Inc.
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