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Cigna to buy Express Scripts for $67B; court orders Berkshire unit to pay $68M

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Cigna to buy Express Scripts for $67B; court orders Berkshire unit to pay $68M

Cigna Corp. has agreed to acquire pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. in a roughly $67 billion transaction, wherein Cigna will assume about $15 billion of Express Scripts' debt. The merger consideration will consist of $48.75 in cash and 0.2434 shares of stock of the combined company per Express Scripts share, or $54 billion in the aggregate. Upon deal closure, Cigna shareholders will own roughly 64% of the combined company and Express Scripts shareholders will own roughly 36%.

Following French life insurer AXA's announced $15.26 billion acquisition of XL Group Ltd and American International Group Inc.'s $5.56 billion deal for Validus Holdings Ltd., other Bermuda insurers may become targets, according to analysts.

A Montana court ordered Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s unit National Indemnity Co. to pay over $68 million in an asbestos-related settlement, The Wall Street Journal reported. The court said the company breached its duty to defend the state from cases linked to the mine in Libby, Mont. People injured by asbestos at the mine had alleged the state did not protect the workers even though it knew about the unsafe conditions there, the report said.

Maryland legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan have written to the state's congressional delegation, seeking a federal reinsurance program to stabilize the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, individual market, The Baltimore Sun reported. They called the insurance premium increases "unsustainable" in the letter signed by state Senate President Thomas Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch, both Democrats. Currently, a bipartisan congressional group is considering a federal reinsurance plan that may be attached to a federal spending bill soon, the report said.

The Iowa Senate passed a bill 40-9, allowing Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield to sell health insurance plans that do not comply with the ACA, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported.

The legal justification for Idaho's new health plans that sidestep ACA rules relies on a reading of a specific phrase in the health law, according to a letter reviewed by S&P Global Market Intelligence. In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service Inc.'s legal counsel, Anthony Shelley, argued the insurer's plans are legal based on an interpretation of what it means to "substantially enforce" the ACA.

The U.S. property and casualty industry's net underwriting loss, as expected, grew exponentially in 2017 as insurers confronted the most active North Atlantic hurricane season in more than a decade and unprecedented autumn wildfires in California.

Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $30.3 million, or $1.23 per share, versus an adjusted net loss of $2.9 million, or a loss of 9 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Featured news

Cigna to acquire Express Scripts in $67B deal; Merck KGaA earnings down: Germany's Merck KGaA booked pre-exceptional EBITDA of €1.01 billion, or €1.31 per share, compared to €1.08 billion, or €1.43 per share in the year-ago period. Net sales for the quarter reached about €3.85 billion, up 0.5% from €3.83 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Japan to punish cryptocurrency exchanges; State Bank of India penalized

Europe: Aviva FY'17 profit jumps YOY; EU rules out special treatment for UK

Middle East & Africa: Ghana's ADB, uniBank deny takeover; Saudi prince seeks end to bank tax dispute

Latin America: Finansur asset freeze lifted; Grupo Sura sells Chile annuity biz

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 1.52% to 30,654.52 and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.54% to 21,368.07.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.07% to 7,162.67 and the Euronext 100 gained 0.51% to 1,017.82.

On the macro front

The EIA Natural Gas Report, Fed Balance Sheet, Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, Quarterly Services Survey and the Jobless Claims are due out today.