Anthem offers $46 bln for Cigna, says CEO role holds up deal

U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) said on Saturday it had offered $46 billion in cash and stock for smaller rival Cigna Corp (CI.N) but that a deal was being held up in part over what role Cigna CEO David Cordani would have in a merged company.

Anthem, the second largest health insurer in the United States, said that it had made four offers for Cigna in June, sweetening each one with a bigger total offer or an increased cash component for a premium of 35.4 percent.

The statement included a letter to Cigna's board in which Anthem said it had offered $184 per share in response to Cigna's requests, but that it could not guarantee that the CEO role would eventually go to Cordani.

Cigna spokesman Jon Sandberg declined to comment.

The announcement comes at a time when the nation's biggest insurers are positioning for deals that can give them scale in providing health plans for the elderly and disabled as well as Medicaid for the poor and large employer-based insurance, which Cigna focuses on. Insurers say being bigger will enable them to negotiate better prices with doctors.