Cigna Healthcare has announced that it is not looking to acquire rival US health insurer Humana, the possibility of which had been widely reported last month.
A release from Cigna stated: “In light of recent and persistent speculation, the Cigna Group expects to communicate that the company is not pursuing a combination with Humana Inc.
“The Cigna Group remains committed to its established M&A criteria and would only consider acquisitions that are strategically aligned, financially attractive, and have a high probability to close.”
There had been some media speculation that the likelihood of a merger or acquisition between the two leading US health insurers was higher following the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency – as it was thought that regulators under a Republican government would look more favourably on such a move.
Humana’s share price had risen following the election, but has now fallen following the Cigna statement.
The Humana stock price stood at US$255.55 on November 4, increasing to US$288.50 for the election the next day. But today the stock had declined to below US$280.
Meanwhile, Cigna stock price increased from US$315 on the day of the election to US$345 today.
Health & Protection reported last month that Cigna Healthcare had resumed merger talks with US-based Humana.
Earlier talks last year between the pair had fallen apart over the issue of price.
Cigna Healthcare is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company headquartered in Connecticut, with about 72,000 global employees and is ranked as the third largest health insurer in the US market.
The insurer has a global international private medical insurance (IPMI) operation, but has ended its domestic UK business.
Humana is also an American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is ranked as the fourth largest health insurance provider in the US market and has approximately 67,000 employees.
Although both health insurance companies, the two companies have a different stated focus.
While Cigna is focused on private employer-based health coverage, Humana is mainly focused on the US government health insurance programme Medicare.