Anthem to buy Cigna in $54.2 billion deal

(Image credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

published 24 July 2015

Health insurer Anthem announced Friday that it will buy rival Cigna in a deal valued at $54.2 billion. The buyout will create the largest health insurance company in the U.S., covering about 53 million people, and caps almost a year of sometimes contentious negotiations. Anthem will pay $188 per Cigna share in cash and stock, it said Thursday. The deal comes on the heels of another giant buyout, in which Aetna bought Humana for $35 billion. Analysts have cited ObamaCare as a main driver of the consolidation frenzy. Read more at Bloomberg and The New York Times.