AndreyPopov
Cigna (New York Stock Exchange:CI) and Human (New York Stock Exchange: humming) would have abandoned their merger plans after failing to reach an agreement on financial conditions, including the price.
Instead, Cigna will pursue bolt-on acquisitions and conduct a significant share buyback. according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people close to the matter. The Journal first reported that the companies were in talks to merge late last month.
Investors failed to warm to the idea of a merger, and Cigna shares fell 8% upon news of an impending deal and have been trending downward ever since. Humana stock has also taken a significant hit.
The newspaper said Sunday that the proposed deal would have involved Cigna acquiring Humana in a cash-and-stock deal with a “large” equity component. Instead, Cigna now plans to make an additional $10 billion worth of share buybacks, which would bring the total amount of its planned buyback to $11.3 billion. The company is considering buying back at least $5 billion in common stock before the end of the first half of 2024.
