Cigna Nears Express Scripts Deal, Will Close Thursday On $67 billion Tie-Up

Dec. 19--New Jersey regulators have approved the $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts Holding Co. by Cigna Corp., the last state to give the green light to the deal, the Bloomfield health insurer said Wednesday in a filing with federal regulators.

Cigna said it will close the deal Thursday. Its shares closed up $1.24, to $193.30, after topping $199 earlier in the afternoon. Shares of Express Scripts closed 77 cents higher, at $95.80.

Regulators in California and New York approved the deal last week.

The Cigna acquisition and the $69 billion purchase of Aetna Inc. by CVS Health Corp. are the two biggest tie-ups in health insurance this year. They represent a new direction in health care with combined health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers intended to squeeze out costs for the merging companies.

Leerink Research analyst Ana Gupte said Cigna and Express have "not offered quantitative guidance on" cost savings and said details are needed. She also asked how the two companies will compete with the CVS-Aetna operation and a similar Optum Rx with cross-selling and bundling medical and pharmacy benefits.

Gupte also asked what the "operational, organizational and cultural challenges" are as the two companies integrate.

The U.S. Department of Justice approved the Cigna-Express Scripts deal in September and the companies said then they expected to close by the end of the year.

Cigna and Express Scripts announced the deal in March. David Cordani, chief executive officer of Cigna, said it combines the pharmacy company's experience negotiating lower drug costs with Cigna's relationships with doctors. The result, he said, will be to expand health care access for consumers at home, the doctor's office and centers that provide infusion services.

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