Billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn has amassed a sizable stake in health insurance industry giant Cigna and plans to vote against its proposed US$54 billion acquisition of Express Scripts Holding when shareholders vote August 24, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Icahn, a high-profile activist investor who once served as an advisor to President Trump, holds less than a 5% stake in the insurance company. He reportedly believes that Cigna is paying too high of a price for the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), which faces various risks including consolidation of industry rivals and the entrance of e-commerce and cloud computing titan Amazon.
In December, insurance rival Aetna agreed to buy drugstore chain and PBM manager CVS Health in a deal worth US$69 billion. On Wednesday, August 1, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones released a report urging the US Justice Department to block the proposed tie up.
Full Content: The Wall Street Journal
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
...THIS ARTICLE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR IP ADDRESS 216.73.216.118
Please verify email or join us
to access premium content!
