Law360 (February 28, 2019, 9:44 PM EST) — Former Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish testified Thursday he saw his company as “truly at war” with Cigna Corp.’s top brass in 2016 as a power struggle widened over the two companies’ doomed, $54 billion merger.
Testifying in a case with as much as $20 million in dueling damage claims at stake, Swedish, now a senior adviser and consultant to Anthem, said he included the remark in an email to himself summarizing conflicts with Cigna CEO David Cordani and Cigna’s board over post-closing management structure.
Anthem, the nation’s second largest health insurer and its largest Blue Cross Blue Shield company, announced an agreement to acquire fourth-ranked Cigna in July 2015 in a cash and stock deal. That agreement was soon torn by disputes over management choices and pressures created by a federal antitrust investigation and suit.