Anthem, WellPoint Merger Is Complete -
12/05/04
Article from the
LA Times Online
Deal creates the biggest U.S. health insurer. One executive says members can expect more choices but not lower prices.
After several false starts and months of controversy, Anthem
Inc. completed its acquisition of WellPoint Health Networks
Inc. on Tuesday, creating the largest health insurer in the nation with more
than 28 million members.
The company will operate out of Anthem's Indianapolis headquarters but will
adopt a streamlined version of its Thousand Oaks-based target's name:
WellPoint Inc.
The conclusion of the cash and stock deal, valued at about $21 billion, was
announced after the market closed. But anticipation that the purchase — more
than a year in the making — would be formally wrapped up drove the stocks of
both companies to new highs.
Shares of WellPoint, the parent of Blue Cross of California, rose $2.08 to
$125.10, while Anthem rose $1.73 to $101.33, both on the New York Stock
Exchange. The combined company will begin trading today under the ticker
symbol WLP.
Since the deal was announced in October 2003, Anthem's stock has risen 31%,
while WellPoint's has soared 49%.
Analysts said they expected the bulked-up insurer to grab employee health
benefit accounts at big corporations operating in multiple states.
The combined WellPoint covers more than a third more people than its next
largest competitor, Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group Inc.
"With the merger, Anthem and WellPoint stepped up into the big leagues," said
Steven Hill, a manager with First Investors, which holds Anthem shares.
Full
Story...
For more information regarding HMO litigation please visit the
HMO Crisis Newsroom
For more information regarding PBM litigation please visit the PBM Watch Newsroom
For more information regarding hospital patient
billing litigation visit the
Hospital Watch Newsroom
Newsroom | Events Calendar | Contact Us | HMO Crisis Home | Archie Lamb.Com
You are receiving this newsletter because you have subscribed through our website www.hmocrisis.com
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services provided by other lawyers.