Delaware Judge Frees Cigna to Exit Anthem Merger

By Brent Kendall, Anna Wilde Mathews and Peg Brickley 

A Delaware judge here on Thursday freed health insurer Cigna Corp. to abandon its proposed $48 billion merger with Anthem Inc., declining to give Anthem more time to try to salvage the deal, which federal courts have blocked on antitrust grounds.

The development could spell the end for a long-troubled deal in which the two companies have accused one another of violating their merger agreement.

The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the deal last year. A federal judge blocked it in February and an appeals court also ruled against Anthem last month. But Anthem sought to press forward and recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, a request that faced long odds.

Separate from the federal antitrust case, Anthem and Cigna have sued one another in Delaware, and Anthem wanted Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, a judge on the Delaware Chancery Court, to issue an injunction that would have prevented Cigna from terminating the deal, at least for now.

Judge Laster in a Thursday afternoon hearing denied Anthem's injunction request, saying the company's chances of saving the merger were remote.

Anthem and Cigna didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The judge stayed the ruling for 24 hours so Anthem can seek appellate review if it wishes.

Write to Brent Kendall at [e-mail], Anna Wilde Mathews at [e-mail] and Peg Brickley at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2017 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)

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