Cigna Corp and Humana Merger Talks

Investing.com – Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) has confirmed it is not pursuing a combination with its smaller peer Humana (NYSE:HUM), according to media reports on Monday.

According to Reuters, Cigna said it would only be considering acquisitions that are "strategically aligned, financially attractive and have a high probability to close."

Shares in Cigna rose in premarket US trading on the news, while Humana's stock price slipped. Cigna currently has a market capitalization of around $89.39 billion, while Humana's is roughly $34.69 billion.

The companies previously held informal and early-stage discussions over a possible deal, Bloomberg News reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.

Last December, Cigna abandoned a prior attempt to negotiate an acquisition of Humana after the two were unable to agree on a price, Reuters reported.

Primarily focused on employer-sponsored healthcare plans, Cigna is in the midst of offloading its Medicare Advantage unit, which oversees government-backed plans for people aged 65 and older. It has previously agreed to sell the division to insurance firm Health Care Service Corp. for $3.3 billion.

Humana, meanwhile, has been wrestling with slipping membership in its high-performing Medicare Advantage plans. The group also said in July that demand for medical care was higher than projected in the second quarter, stoking investors' fears that a recent spike in medical costs for health insurers may not soon abate.

Medical costs have been jumping industry-wide since late 2023, when older adults began to catch up on health procedures delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Payments from the government for managing healthcare for Medicare members have been sluggish as well.