Lines Between Market Segments Continue to Blur as Cigna Plans to Buy Express Scripts

It’s too late to be truly unprecedented, but Cigna’s announcement that it plans to buy Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit management company in the U.S., signals that lines between “traditional” segments of the healthcare industry will continue to be breached for the foreseeable future. Once the deal is done, the combined company will reside in Cigna’s Connecticut headquarters, headed by Cigna CEO David Cordani. The Express Scripts unit will still be based in St. Louis and continue to be run by current Express Scripts CEO Tim Wentworth, who will have the title of president. The deal is valued at $67 billion in cash and stocks, and includes $15 billion in Express Scripts’ debt, according to the New York Times. Cigna has reasoned that combining the two companies, both giants in their respective industries, would allow pharmacy and medical claims to be managed under one roof, realizing savings across the board and granting the new company previously unattainable bargaining power with drugmakers.