Cigna confirmed it will undergo Department of Justice scrutiny as it attempts to acquire Express Scripts for $54 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.
Here are four things to know about the confirmation.
1. In early April, Cigna began notifying investors about the DOJ's pending review. Cigna CEO David Cordani told investors April 5 in Europe the DOJ would review its vertical acquisition of the pharmacy benefit manager.
2. In the past, vertical transactions, which combine different components of the same industry — in this case, health insurance and PBM — have generally succeeded. However, DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has raised the bar for approving deals that don't tie up direct competitors, such as AT&T's proposed bid for Time Warner.
3. In a statement to Bloomberg, Cigna said it is "optimistic in our ability to obtain regulatory approval" from the department. The DOJ and Express Scripts declined to comment on the matter.
4. Another giant deal attempting to meld different parts of the healthcare industry — CVS Health's $69 billion bid for Aetna — is also facing DOJ review.
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