Anthem Sets Next Cigna Merger Step, Reports Profit Boost

The resulting business will be based at Anthem's Indianapolis headquarters.

Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) has announced a special meeting December 3 as part of its planned $54 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI). Shareholders will vote to issue Anthem stock to owners of Cigna shares as part of the merger process. Anthem is also reporting third quarter net income of $654.8 million, compared to $630.9 million during the same period last year.

Chief Executive Officer Joe Swedish says the "solid" results were driven by growth in commercial and government businesses. "We remain firmly focused on driving a differentiated consumer experience and capitalizing on the future opportunities for growth across our markets. We are pleased with the execution across our business segments in the third quarter. We have updated our full year adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $10.10 – $10.20, which reflects the core outperformance in the third quarter results."

The pending merger, which is expected to close in the second half of next year, would result in a combined company that includes 53 million members. A large chunk of which would be comprised of essentially half of all Medicare enrollments in the United States. Its total revenue is estimated at $115 billion.

You can connect to more about the special meeting by clicking here.