Delaware's highest court on Monday axed Cigna Corp.'s bid to collect a $1.85 billion termination fee over its failed merger with Anthem.
The state's Supreme Court did not elaborate why the Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer could not clawback the fine. The announcement upholds an August 2020 decision made by the Delaware Chancery Court. It concludes a bitter, years-long battle between the two payers and their top executives tied to the failure of their $54 billion merger, which would have created the nation's largest insurer.
The merger was called off in 2017 after a district court issued a permanent injunction against the deal. After the agreement collapsed, Cigna and Anthem sued each other, arguing that the other derailed the merger. Cigna sued for $14.7 billion in damages, plus a merger break-up fee of $1.8 billion. Anthem countersued for damages of $21.1 billion.
The Delaware Chancery Court wrote that "neither side can recover from the other. Each must deal independently with the consequence of their costly and ill-fated attempt to merge."
In a statement Anthem's legal team, White & Case, called the decision "a resounding victory for Anthem and ends the final chapter in one of the most remarkable corporate litigations in history."
Cigna did not immediately respond to interview requests.
