(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has a sizable stake in health insurer Cigna (CI.N) and plans to vote against its planned $52 billion acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts (ESRX.O), the Wall Street Journal reported here on Wednesday.
August 18, 2017: Carl Icahn, special adviser to President Donald Trump. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Icahn believes Cigna is paying too high a price for Express Scripts, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Cigna’s shares rose about 3 percent on Wednesday afternoon, while Express Scripts’ stock slid nearly 8 percent.
Cigna announced the deal in March, looking for new ways to boost profits as the industry faces greater scrutiny for rising healthcare costs.
Neither Icahn nor Cigna immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar
