Health insurers Anthem Inc. and competitor Cigna Corp. announced Friday an agreement in which Anthem will buy Cigna in a cash and stock deal valued at $54.2 billion. Anthem, which is headquartered in Indianapolis but manages its California operations out of Thousand Oaks, expects to generate more than $115 billion in annual revenue after the companies combine. The figure is based on the most recent revenue estimates for 2015 reported by the two companies. Shareholders of Cigna, a smaller insurer based out of Bloomfield, Conn., will receive $103.40 in cash and 0.5152 of Anthem common shares for each Cigna common share, Anthem said. That equates to about $188 for each Cigna share based on Anthem’s closing share price on May 28, 2015. Cigna’s shareholders will get a premium of about 38.4 percent based on the unaffected closing price of Cigna’s shares on May 28, 2015. The post-acquisition Anthem will have roughly 53 million customers from the two companies once the transaction is complete, the company said. Joseph Swedish, Anthem’s chief executive, will lead the merged company as chief executive, while Cigna’s chief executive, David Cordani, will become president and chief operating officer. Anthem’s board of directors will have 14 members, including Cordani and four of Cigna’s independent board directors.
