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Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is trending down at writing following a report that it may soon merge with peer Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM).

Cigna and Humana are discussing a potential merger

Anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal today that two of the largest U.S. health insurers are “in talks” over a stock-and-cash deal.

Neither of the two healthcare giants have so far commented on the report that expects the said merger to be finalised by the end of 2023.

The news arrives about a month after Humana Inc reported its financial results for the third quarter that handily topped Street estimates.

Note that the Charitable Trust of famed investor Jim Cramer holds some 100 shares of the New York-listed company that are currently up about 20% versus their year-to-date low.

Cigna-Humana tie-up could face regulatory hurdles

Earlier in November, Cigna Group was reported interested in unloading its Medicare Advantage business.

Personalized experiences is the future of health care. See how Cigna can help employers design a plan that will help improve employee health while making the business grow. https://t.co/c6GcWLedap #employeehealth #healthcare pic.twitter.com/ww7cpcNfzC

— Cigna Healthcare (@Cigna) May 19, 2023

Financial details of the potential agreement remain unknown – but it, nonetheless, is expected to be a mega deal considering Humana and Cigna currently have a market cap of about $63 billion and $80 billion, respectively.

The combined company would pose a much bigger competition to the likes of UnitedHealth and CVS Health Corp.

$CI had $2.0 billion of adjusted income from operations in its latest reported quarter. It is worth mentioning here that Cigna had previously tried to merge with Anthem and Humana with Aetna Inc. Both attempts later collapsed due to regulatory hurdles.

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