OTHER STATES COULD RECONSIDER ANTHEM MERGER:

Georgia and West Virginia may reconsider their approval of the Anthem Inc./WellPoint merger, after learning about California’s $265 million concessions package. Seven other states, plus Puerto Rico, may decide to reconsider their earlier approval of the merger including Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Stock analysts suggest that any re-appraisals of the merger by key states that regulate the two companies won’t lead to demands that Anthem ante up further concessions that rival those in California. The deal, whose value has risen from $16 billion to more than $18 billion based on a recent run-up in Anthem’s share price, sealed the last state regulatory approval that Anthem needed to acquire WellPoint. But the financial concessions California negotiated with Anthem are large enough that other state regulators may see them as a drain on Anthem’s overall financial health, causing them to reconsider their approvals. In some of the states reviewing the Anthem-WellPoint merger, there is no precedent for their insurance regulatory agencies demanding financial concessions as a condition of granting an approval for a merger.

Topics California Mergers & Acquisitions