Anthem Loses Appeal to Overturn U.S. Block of Cigna Takeover

Bloomberg ------- Anthem Inc. lost its bid to overturn a court ruling that blocked its planned takeover of rival Cigna Corp., capping a nearly two-year battle to complete a combination of two of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. The federal appeals court in Washington upheld a lower court ruling by a 2-1 vote, according to an order issued Friday. Cigna shares fell as much as 3.3 percent on the ruling. “We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining the merger based on Anthem’s failure to show the kind of extraordinary efficiencies necessary to offset the conceded anticompetitive effect of the merger,” the panel wrote. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.