A Delaware judge rebuffed efforts by both Cigna and Anthem to collect billions over their failed merger, saying Cigna had breached its obligations but the merger was likely to have been blocked on antitrust grounds anyway, reported Bloomberg.
Cigna, which would have been acquired by Anthem, had demanded about US$15 billion in damages and termination fees. Anthem, which runs Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in more than a dozen states, had insisted it was owed US$21 billion because, it claimed, Cigna intentionally sank the deal by failing to challenge Justice Department opposition.
“Despite high-profile protagonists, a sprawling record, and billions of dollars in damages claims, this is a breach of contract case,” Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster wrote in an opinion issued Monday, August 31.
Laster had urged the companies in a November hearing to end their “corporate soap opera.”
“This outcome leaves the parties where they stand,” Laster wrote in Monday’s opinion. “Neither side can recover from the other. Each must deal independently with the consequences of their costly and ill-fated attempt to merge.”
Full Content: Bloomberg
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