A proposed merger between two major health insurance providers ended in a messy breakup after antitrust issues prohibited the roughly $50 billion transaction in 2017. Now, the two companies, Anthem and Cigna, are still disputing which company will foot the costs of the failed deal, Bloomberg Quint reported.
The two companies have been feuding in court since 2017, with Cigna asking for a total of $15 billion in damages, including the $1.85 billion fee after the merger fell apart. Anthem also filed a dueling lawsuit to pursue damages from the split, arguing it should be owed $20 billion after Cigna sabotaged the deal.
“The case provides a look at one of the largest corporate deals in the U.S. to go sour and a courtroom version of the blame game,” Bloomberg reported.
A Delaware judge will start to settle the issue this week.
Since the merger meltdown, Cigna went on to acquire Express Scripts for $67 billion. Meanwhile, Anthem has taken more of a backseat in mergers and acquisition.
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