They were just a few brief comments at an investor conference but they were enough to set the health insurance industry abuzz: Could Aetna purchase Cigna? The mention of a deal that would merge two of the biggest U.S. health insurers and could be worth $16 billion has Wall Street talking about its logic and whether the Obama administration and other regulators would even allow it. Large-scale dealmaking in the managed care sector has been virtually nonexistent in the past five years, in part because few were willing to make a major bet on the industry's future while the government debated new regulations. With the U.S. healthcare overhaul in place, companies are striking some relatively small acquisitions to increase market share or add capabilities in areas such as technology. But there have been no recent transactions even remotely close in size to a possible merger between Aetna Inc (AET.N) and Cigna Corp. (CI.N)
Aetna Inc. (Aetna) is a diversified health care benefits company, serving approximately 35. Shares of AET traded higher by 0.12% or $0.05/share to $43.44. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.42 and as high as $46.01. On average, 4193370 shares of AET exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2482990.
CIGNA Corporation (CIGNA) is a holding company. CIGNA is a global health service organization with subsidiaries that are providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services. Shares of CI traded higher by 1.84% or $0.94/share to $52.06. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $29.12 and as high as $49.90. On average, 2638760 shares of CI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3902319.
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