Humana and Aetna call off $34 billion buyout

The two deals would consolidate the nation’s five largest insurers into three.

“The suit alleged that the merger would hurt competition in the health care market, leading to higher prices for consumers and fewer services for Medicare patients”.

After a 13-day trial, Judge Bates ruled the deal would violate antitrust law by substantially reducing competition in the Medicare Advantage market and in some of the ACA exchanges. The agreement was set to expire on Wednesday.

Aetna shares rose 2 percent to $124.52, while Humana fell 0.3 percent to $206.14. (MOH) and will pay the applicable fees associated with that termination. The U.S. Justice Department sued to block both transactions last July and won in separate court proceedings.

Anthem said Thursday it will appeal the federal court decision blocking its proposed Cigna purchase.

Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program for people who are over age 65 or disabled.

Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov has offloaded some of his Rusal stake in the open market after talks to sell his holding in the Russian aluminium giant to fellow businessman Viktor Vekselberg stalled.

Aetna said that in mid-March it will redeem for cash $10.2 billion of the remaining debt it had issued to acquire Humana. Cigna waited another week to unveil its next move.

Given the federal court’s ruling and the new lawsuit, it seems highly unlikely that the transaction will close as intended.

“Our outlook for an attractive 2017 is further strengthened by our current capital position”, Cordani told analysts on Cigna’s fourth-quarter earnings call earlier this month. But the company said Tuesday that it and Louisville-headquartered Humana had reached an agreement to “mutually” end the tie-up.

It comes after the February 8 U.S. court decision blocking the proposed $50 billion merger. As a result, Cigna has filed a almost $15 billion lawsuit against Anthem. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, said it would challenge the suit. Cigna announced today that it’s terminating the agreement to merge, but this breakup is far from mutual.