Media reports indicate that a deal between Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. is close and will likely be announced Friday. Anthem is headquartered in Indianapolis, but its California operations are managed out of Thousand Oaks. Cigna is a much smaller insurer based in Bloomfield, Conn. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday, Anthem would pay $188 a share, or $48 billion, for Cigna. Reuters and CNBC said the announcement would come by the end of the week. Neither company returned calls for comments. The news impacted the stock of Cigna, with shares closing up 2.1 percent from Wednesday’s closing price, more than Anthem, which stayed basically flat. In June, Anthem offered to buy Cigna at $184 a share in a stock and cash deal. Regulatory approvals were still needed, Anthem said at the time, and it hoped to close the deal by the end of the year. According to Anthem’s proposal, the combined company would generate more than $115 billion in revenue. While Anthem’s board of directors was behind the acquisition, Anthem said both companies’ boards needed to vote on the proposed transaction. Cigna rejected Anthem’s offer in a subsequent letter, saying its board determined the proposal inadequate and not in the best interest of its shareholders. Anthem is facing several “significant” and “fundamental” challenges and issues, Cigna wrote, and although Cigna had tried to talk with Anthem about a possible merger, Anthem has avoided addressing the issues.
